“Apple’s iPhone sales in the June quarter will significantly disappoint versus Wall Street expectations, according to Morgan Stanley,” Tae Kim reports for CNBC. “But the firm says any drop in the stock from poor results will be a great buying opportunity.”
“Morgan Stanley lowered its June quarter iPhone unit estimate to 34 million from 40.5 million versus the nearly 43 million average forecast,” Kim reports. “‘We expect Apple to report an in-line March quarter, but are cautious into earnings on May 1 due to our belief that June quarter consensus estimates need to be revised lower,’ analyst Katy Huberty wrote in a note to clients entitled ‘Cautious Into The Print; Buy Any Post-Earnings Dip’ Friday… Huberty cited her poor checks with Apple’s iPhone suppliers and weaker than expected data from China for her estimate reduction. She noted Apple smartphone activation share fell in China so far this year through March.”
“Despite her negative iPhone forecast the analyst reiterated her overweight rating for the company’s shares, saying investors should add to Apple positions in any post-earnings stock decline,” Kim reports. “The analyst lowered her price target to $200 from $203 for the company’s stock, representing 16 percent upside from Thursday’s close.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Chopping 6.5 milion iPhone units off a quarterly estimate is certainly attention-getting.
We shall see on May 1st.