The drop comes a year after the iPhone maker became the first company to hit $3 trillion in market capitalization.
Apple shares fell 4% to $124.60 after the analyst Exane BNP Paribas Jerome Ramel lowered its recommendation to “neutral” from “above market average,” and cut its price target to $140 from $180, according to Refinitiv Eikon.
Ramel cut its fiscal year 2023 iPhone shipment expectations to 224 million units from 245 million units, reflecting the manufacturer Foxconn’s supply chain woes and reduced consumer spending on high-end phones.
At Apple’s current stock price, the company is worth $1.98 trillion, just ahead of Microsoft Corp, which has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion.
Underlining investor concerns that the slowdown in the global economy and high inflation may be weighing on demand for Apple devices, analysts on average expect the Cupertino, California-based company to report in the next few weeks a 1% drop in revenue for the December quarter, according to Refinitiv. It would be Apple’s first quarterly drop in revenue since the March 2019 quarter.
“They (Apple) tend to lean towards the high-end consumer device customer, but even that demographic could be getting hit by the high price of everything,” said Kim Forrest of Bokeh Capital Partners.
Last year’s sharp declines on Wall Street punished tech heavyweights, as investors worried about rising interest rates dumped stocks with high valuations.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
