Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron lowered his price target for stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Tuesday from $600 to $550 per share, citing short-term risks.
According to Ittai Kidron, the shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could suffer a negative impact in the near future as consumers delay their decisions to purchase an iPhone as they anticipate the release of a new model, which could result in a decline in earnings over the next two quarters.
In a note to investors, Kidron wrote, “Like spring training, the national pastime of predicting potential iPhone/iPad release dates is picking up steam and increasingly mid-year focused. Nothing has substantiated, but as news flows, consumers will likely pause purchases awaiting the update. We see risk to consensus and are lowering our March/June estimates while raising Sept.” According to him, most of the downside risk is already calculated on the stock price of the company.
Kidron said, “Much of the revision appears built into investor expectations, and we don’t see much downside pressure from a potential June miss. However, we also don’t see much of a NT positive catalyst until we get closer to the product cycle or get more clarity on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s cash intentions.”
Aside from the price target, Kidron also reduced Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s earnings per share estimates for fiscal 2013 from $45.22 to $44.38 per share as well as the EPS for fiscal 2014 from $50.20 to $49.77.
Kidron emphasized the fundamentals of the iPhone and iPad maker remains positive over the long-term. He gave the company an outperform rating despite his short-terms concerns.
In a separate report, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is planning to expand its presence in India and aims to triple the number of its exclusive stores in the country to 200 by 2015. The company launched massive advertisements in for its products in the country and it is offering an equated monthly installment (EMI) plan for consumers to be able to buy an iPhone and iPad to boost its sales. At present, the Apple has 65 exclusive stores owned and managed by franchisees in India.
Meanwhile, a report from DigiTimes cited that the launching of the iTV could happen by the end of 2013 until the beginning of 2014 because of supply issues on Ultra HD TV panels.
The stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was $460.93 per share after hours on Tuesday.
