“Apple shares could fall 20 percent as iPhone sales slow in the second half of this year and sales of the company’s new Apple Watch fail to offset that decline, an analyst said in a note Thursday,” John Melloy reports for CNBC.
“Abhey Lamba of Mizuho Securities downgraded the world’s biggest company, whose shares rose almost 40 percent in 2014 to a record high, to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy,'” Melloy reports. “The analyst’s 12-month price target remains unchanged at $115, about $5 above Wednesday’s closing price, but Lamba said ‘downside’ for the stock could be in the mid-$80s.”
Melloy reports, “‘While F1Q15 results will likely be extremely solid and March guidance could indicate continued momentum, we believe iPhone sales will decelerate more than normal later in the year,” states the note. ‘Additionally,our checks indicate that Apple Watch sales could be disappointing and other categories are unlikely to offset the slowdown in iPhone sales creating pressure on out-year estimates.'”
“Apple is a victim of its own success in a sense, according to Lamba, as it will be unable to add enough new iPhone 6 users this year to justify the company’s size,” Melloy reports.
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