Weekly Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Apple (AAPL)

Posted by: Ghasem Abdullahian Posted date: March 22, 2013 In: Analyst Articles - Company Sum, Investing

A number of stock research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) during the last seven days:

Apple was downgraded by analysts at Credit Agricole from a “buy” rating to an “outperform” rating. They now have a $505.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $575.00.
Apple had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Robert W. Baird. They now have a $465.00 price target on the stock.
Apple had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Credit Suisse. They now have a $600.00 price target on the stock.
Apple had its price target lowered by analysts at Jefferies Group from $500.00 to $420.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock. They wrote, “Following our Feb 13 note, our Asia supply checks and sell-through checks lead us to cut revenues to the low end of CQ1 guidance; we see a 25% chance of missing guidance. Our checks also indicate that the iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone launches return to CQ3 and that Apple is trying to bring forward its iPad launches to compensate. Our new estimates are even further below consensus for CQ2 and we cut our target from $500 to $420.”
Apple had its price target lowered by analysts at Argus from $775.00 to $600.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
Apple was upgraded by analysts at BTIG Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $540.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $45.00. They wrote, “We upgraded Apple to Buy from Neutral and have set a $540 price target that is based on 12x our newly established Fiscal 2014 EPS estimate of $45. We lowered our F2013 revenue estimate by $6.0 billion to $174.0 billion due mainly to lower estimated iPhone and iPad sales. We lowered our F2013 EPS estimate by $2.00 to $41.00, which implies a decline of 7% y/y and is $3 below consensus.”
Apple had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS AG from $600.00 to $560.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
Apple had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Sterne Agee. They now have a $630.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $715.00. They wrote, “We are picking up from our supplier checks build plan reductions for iPhone likely due to an inventory drawdown ahead of refreshes in the 2H. In addition, we see evidence of sourcing activity for what appears to be iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone using composite material casing. We are reducing our iPhone forecast but leaving iPads and Macs intact. With 2 weeks left, we believe AAPL will likely hit the lower end of its guidance. The good news is this is better than most expecting a miss.”
Apple had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Topeka Capital Markets. They now have a $888.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, “As we anniversary the March 19, 2012 announcement of Apple’s first cash dividend since the last payment in 1995, cash is clearly on investors’ minds this week. We believe creating a safety net around Apple’s stock with a larger cash distribution is the first phase necessary to stabilize Apple’s stock price, followed by a trough in the profit cycle and the ability to open up new, large market opportunities. We believe Apple can complete these three phases in CY13, providing the necessary fuel to push the stock meaningfully higher over the next year.”
Apple had its price target lowered by analysts at Canaccord Genuity from $650.00 to $600.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. They wrote, “Based on our handset market analysis and discussions with suppliers, we believe Apple could launch a refreshed iPhone 5S this summer or during Q3/C2013 versus our initial expectation for a launch in June. Further, with a host of impressive recently launched high-end Android smartphones expected to ramp in Q2/C2013, we believe Apple could lose smartphone market share during 1H/C2013 and have reduced our Q3/F2013 iPhone estimates. Longer term, we maintain our belief Apple has a strong product pipeline that should result in reaccelerating Y/Y earnings growth during the Sept. quarter. We reiterate our BUY rating, but lower our price target to $600 from $650.”
Apple had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Credit Suisse. They now have a $600.00 price target on the stock.

Shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up 0.14% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $452.73. Apple has a one year low of $419.00 and a one year high of $705.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $448.4. The company has a market cap of $425.1 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.25.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.

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