“Merrill Lynch has lowered its rating on Apple shares from Buy to Neutral. The financial firm says Apple’s execution ‘has been extraordinary’ but questions the ‘upside in the stock’ moving forward. Merrill cites the Intel transition that, while 2-3 quarters away, ‘could cause customers to pause, offsetting the halo effect.’ Additionally, revenue growth deceleration is expected in the next 1-3 quarters. ‘When everyone knows everything is going right for a company, sentiment is hard to improve,’ writes analyst Richard Farmer. Farmer also cites Microsoft Vista, which ‘could hold back Mac share gains in 2007.’ Penetration into the consumer PC installed base by the iPod is expected to reach 35 to 40 percent by 2007, but is ‘unlikely to be dramatically exceeded,'” MacNN reports. Farmer also stated, “It isn’t hard to imagine personal technology pundits writing columns that advise potential Mac buyers to hold off until the Intel machines are ready.”
Full article here.
AppleInsider also has a report here.