Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) very likely hasn’t hit rock bottom yet, but one analyst believes that when it does, there will be a huge buying opportunity for investors. Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) inched upward for most of last week and fell less than 1 percent on Monday in spite of three ominous portents that have happened since Friday.
Two Negative Earnings Reports Signal Weak Apple Earnings
Forbes contributor Nigam Arora says two of the three bad portents came in the form of weak earnings reports from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s competitors. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s latest earnings report was weaker than expected because sales of its flagship handset, the Galaxy S4, are already slowing down. Of course the Galaxy S4 is the iPhone’s biggest competitor, so if it isn’t doing well, the iPhone might be struggling as well.
HTC Corp (TPE:2498) also makes handsets geared toward the higher end of the smartphone market, and its latest earnings report was also weaker than expected. The company’s stock hit its lowest price since 2005 in the wake of that report. Arora says the HTC One has some of the best specs and performance of all high end smartphones, and he believes the company is struggling because of how saturated the high end smartphone market is right now.
Shrinking iPhone Sales?
On Monday an analyst from Wedge Partners also predicted that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would slash its iPhone estimates for the second half of the year by as much as 20 percent. The stock didn’t react much to the report, however.
Apple May Have Further To Fall
According to Arora, these three bits of negative news might not be fully discounted in the company’s stock price yet, but Apple shares could plunge if it reports earnings on the low end of consensus estimates. Another problem for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would be if it doesn’t announce any new products and it also provides guidance that’s on the low end of estimates.
He believes that if these events happen and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fall, then it will be a good time for investors to buy shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The company’s next earnings report will be released July 23 after closing bell, so there could be some significant movement around that time, if history can be trusted.
