English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Português
Русский
Español
简体中文
日本語
Apple,
the largest U.S. company by market capitalization, was downgraded at Barclays Tuesday with analysts noting weakness in sales of iPhones and Mac computers.
Strategists led by Tim Long changed their rating to Underweight from Equal Weight, with a price target of $160, down from $161. The shares fell 3.1% as the market opened to $186.38.
Barclays noted that the latest sales checks showed softness in iPhone 15 sales in China and in developed markets. There was more strength in emerging markets, but not enough to compensate. They also said growth in services such as the App Store will slow this year.
“The continued period of weak results coupled with multiple expansion is not sustainable,” Long and his colleagues wrote in the note. “We also believe 2024 will bring more Services risk to light.”
Barclays noted that App Store sales look set to have increased 10% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, they see them decelerating by the third quarter of this year.
Apple
had an excellent 2023, with the stock rising almost 50%. The question now is whether the winning streak can continue. The company hit a roadblock last month as the U.S. temporarily banned sales of the newest Apple Watch for patent issues.
Apple
and the other so-called Magnificent Seven companies, which include
Alphabet,
Amazon,
Meta,
Nvidia,
Microsoft,
and
Tesla,
largely were responsible for the stock market’s big gains last year.
Over at
UBS,
analysts led by David Vogt said the iPhone lost market share in November. Sales of the device dropped some 6% in China in the month from a year earlier. In the U.S., they fell almost 13%.
UBS gives Apple shares a $190 price target and rates them Neutral.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
Read the full article here
