Jefferies Downgrades AAPL Amid iPhone Setback, Gene Munster Sees Strong Prospects Ahead

Apple's stock took a hit on Monday after Jefferies downgraded the company to 'Underperform' from 'Hold', citing concerns over the planned 20th-anniversary iPhone.

The firm, which lowered its price target to $263.66 from $285.56, believes Apple's efforts to introduce higher-priced iPhones have been dealt a major setback due to poor production yields on the all-glass model.

Gene Munster, Managing Partner of Deepwater Asset Management, remains optimistic about Apple's prospects, however, pointing to the company's 9% to 11% September-quarter revenue growth guidance as 'much better' than initially perceived.

Munster expects a major consumer hardware upgrade cycle to begin around mid-to-late 2027 and continue for several years, driven by personalized AI performing inference on devices, which he believes will benefit Apple and other hardware makers.