Jefferies Douses Apple with Downgrade as iPhone Worries Mount
Apple's stock price took a hit after Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AAPL to 'Hold' from 'Buy', citing concerns about iPhone sales and profit margins.
The downgrade comes on the heels of Apple's strong fiscal third-quarter results, with revenue up 16.4% year-over-year to $109.4 billion and earnings per share rising 29% to $2.02.
However, investors were spooked by Apple's forecast for September-quarter revenue growth of just 9-11%, which some analysts saw as a sign of weakness in the iPhone market.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Samik Chatterjee also lowered his price target to $340 from $345 after Apple's weaker-than-expected guidance, while GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu downgraded Apple to 'Hold' from 'Buy' due to rising memory costs and supply limits.