The recent sell-off in Apple stock extended on Friday as traders and analysts continue dealing with uncertainty over how the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak will affect Apple’s sales and supply chain.
Bank of America wrote that Apple’s highly anticipated 5G iPhone could see its fall release delayed by a month as a result of the outbreak. The firm cited a conversation with an expert on the company’s supply chain, Elliot Lan. Lan also expects the launch of the iPhone SE2 will be delayed “by a few months” due to “both supply issues as well as the weaker demand environment from COVID-19.”
Shares of Apple fell as much as 4% on Friday before paring the drop to 2.4% at 11:09 a.m. in New York. The stock has fallen 13% since its record close on Feb. 12, in line with the S&P 500’s decline over that period.
Apple’s second-quarter results are expected to be released around the end of next month. Currently, Wall Street expects adjusted earnings of about $2.71 a share and revenue of $61.5 billion. The consensus for earnings has dropped 9.6% over the past month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, while the revenue view is down 5.5% over the same period.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple stock will obviously continue to be affected by the coronavirus in the short term. This too shall pass. One year ago today, Apple shares closed at $174.52.