Apple shares were up 0.6% in premarket trading Wednesday at $125.79 after dropping from above $130 on Tuesday, reports Barron’s.
That’s when Apple’s rating was lowered to Neutral from Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas as analysts argued the outlook for this year makes it “hard to justify a premium valuation.”
Strategists led by Jerome Ramel lowered their estimates for iPhone shipments to 224 million units from 245 million units for two reasons—production problems in China at supplier Foxconn and, more generally, a weaker outlook for consumer spending this year. They also lowered projections for shipments of iPads and Macs.
Their price target for the stock was cut 22% to $140. Shares are down almost 30% over the past year.
“We see no major positive catalyst for the stock and believe the shares are fairly priced,” BNP Paribas told Barron’s.
Separately, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives lowered his price target for Apple to $200 from $175, though he maintained his Outperform rating.
“Apple remains the laser focus of the tech bears as this name has held up much better than the rest of the beaten down tech sector over the past year,” Ives wrote in a Wednesday note. But even with worries about demand, the company “remains our favorite tech name.”
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
