“Apple Computer’s shares were downgraded Thursday by Bear Stearns as the stock has risen sharply for the year, pushing it past the firm’s year-end price target,” August Cole and Michael Paige report for CBS.MarketWatch. “Analyst Andrew Neff lowered his rating on shares of the Cupertino, Calif.-based maker of sleekly designed computers and popular iPod digital music players to ‘peer perform’ from ‘outperform.’ Neff said he is ‘encouraged with Apple’s execution, growth potential from music and strong balance sheet,’ but added that he doesn’t see ‘compelling valuation upside even if we look out to next year… Our view is that the valuation already reflects multiple product catalysts and potential for strong December quarter results, given Apple’s seasonal strength in consumer and leverage from several synchronized product cycles,’ Neff said.”
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