Due to concerns about the slow demand for its products, particularly the iPhone, Piper Sandler became the second brokerage this week to lower Apple’s shares. As a result, the company saw more losses on Thursday, totaling almost $176 billion since the beginning of the year.
On Thursday, the company’s shares fell 1.7% to $181.20, an eight-week low. Apple’s daily worth may drop by $47.4 billion if the declines continue.
Lead analyst Harsh Kumar of Piper Sandler stated in a letter to clients, “We feel that growth rates for unit sales have peaked and are concerned about handset inventories entering 1H24. The deteriorating macro environment in China could also weigh on handset business.”
The firm reduced its price target for Apple’s shares by $15 to $205, downgrading its rating from “overweight” to “neutral.”.
Since the beginning of the year, Apple has struggled with a decrease in demand, and the company has predicted lower holiday-quarter sales than Wall Street predicted.
Due to restricted consumer spending in the nation and the resurgence of regional rival Huawei, the corporation has been struggling with low demand in China.
According to Kumar, Apple may have difficulties due to an ongoing patent case concerning its new Apple Watches and a high US currency. The brokerage’s comments are in line with Barclays’, which on Tuesday downgraded Apple shares to the equivalent of a “sell” rating.
In addition to raising worries about the iPhone business’s development, Barclays also warned about potential dangers to the company’s services division, which has been the target of criticism in several nations, including the US, due to specific app store policies.
Based on LSEG data, analysts rank the iPhone maker as a “buy” on average, with a consensus price target of $200.
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