Apple shares fall the most in a week on Thursday, Canaccord Genuity slashes price target on the stock, maintains rating

Canaccord Genuity was reported to have revised down its price target on Apple Inc (AAPL) to $225 from $250 previously, after the firms surveys signaled “soft smartphone demand with disappointing initial XR sales.” On the other hand, Canaccord maintained a “Buy” rating on the stock.

Apple shares closed lower for the sixth time in the past ten trading sessions on NASDAQ on Thursday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since November 23rd. The stock went down 0.77% ($1.39) to $179.55, after touching an intraday high at $182.71, or a price level not seen since November 19th ($190.70).

Shares of Apple Inc have surged 6.10% so far in 2018 compared with a 2.40% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Apple’s stock gained 46.11%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

“Given the soft start to the latest lineup of iPhones, we are lowering our iPhone estimates and forecast lower year-over-year unit sales in calendar 2019,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley wrote in a Thursday client note, cited by CNBC.

The firm now forecasts earnings of $13.25 per share in 2019, a downward revision from a previous estimate of $13.46 per share, and earnings of $14.69 per share in 2020, down from $15.18 per share as expected previously.

Additionally, Canaccords Walkley revised down his iPhone sales estimates to 213 million units in 2018, 208 million units in 2019 and 217 million units in 2020.

According to survey feedback, among the reasons for the disappointing initial sales of iPhone XR was the devices inferior quality compared to the XS and XS Max models.

According to CNN Money, the 32 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $232.90, with a high estimate of $310.00 and a low estimate of $165.00. The median estimate represents a 29.71% upside compared to the closing price of $179.55 on November 29th.

The same media also reported that 20 out of 40 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 17 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Apple Inc (AAPL) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $178.36
R1 – $184.63
R2 – $196.96
R3 – $203.23
R4 – $209.49

S1 – $166.03
S2 – $159.76
S3 – $147.43
S4 – $135.09