A Wall Street investment firm on Monday slashed its price target on Apple stock, citing reduced iPhone orders amid demand weakness, especially in China.
Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah reiterated his hold rating on Apple stock and cut his price target to 170 from 185.
On the stock market today, Apple stock sank 0.9% to 170.03.
"We now project Apple overall revenue and EPS (earnings per share) to decline year over year in calendar 2024 for the first time since 2016," Baruah said in a client note.
Quarterly Estimates At Risk
Consensus estimates for Apple's March-quarter results are at "some risk," while Street estimates for Apple's June quarter are facing a "material risk," he said.
"Simply put, iPhone unit shipments are simply too soft owning to both organic demand but also to competition," Baruah said. Also, for the first time in years, Apple is experiencing flattening average selling prices for its iPhones, he said.
In China, Apple is facing significant competition from domestic brands Huawei and Xiaomi, Baruah said.
Apple Stock Down 11% Year To Date
Meanwhile, potential positive catalysts for Apple stock could come from news on generative artificial intelligence and its Vision Pro headset, Baruah said.
In a separate report Monday, Loop Capital analyst John Donovan said his firm's supply chain checks in Asia indicate that Apple has "sharply" cut its iPhone builds.
Apple cut its iPhone orders forecast for 2024 to 199 million units, down 7% to 8% from previous targets, Donovan said.
Year to date, Apple stock has fallen 11.7%.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
