Apple and Samsung have a lot of similarities. They share the top two spots in the global market share of smartphones. Both offer high-end phones, and both companies have devices that are talked about well in advance of their actual launch date. However, there’s one place where they are complete opposites. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price has been falling since September, but Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) has been rising since then. In fact, if you look at the two stocks on the same chart, they’re like a mirror image of each other.
And if you look at analysts’ recommendations on these stocks, you’ll see that in recent weeks, 22 analysts have rated shares of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930) as Buy and 28 others have rated it as Outperform. The company’s stock has no Holds, Sells or Neutrals and only one Underperform rating (Reuters I/B/E/S data).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), on the other hand, has been receiving downgrades from analysts right and left. Approximately 20 different firms have downgraded the stock since its record high of approximately $705 per share in September. Of course that’s not to say Apple doesn’t still have some remaining bulls, like the analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), who believe the stock is going to soar this year.
In recent weeks approximately 22 analysts have rated shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as Buy, 21 have rated them as outperform and 11 of them have listed them as Hold. One analyst has even listed the stock as Underperform, while two others have rated it as Sell, a rarity in the world of analyst recommendations, for obvious reasons.
So analyst ratings are essentially following the paths of the stocks themselves. When Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s price goes up, analysts give it an upgrade. When it falls, they downgrade the stock. And when Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) goes up, they upgrade it.
Apple was certainly the darling of analysts when it was on the rise, but now it’s almost being taken out like yesterday’s garbage. The bottom line is that the stock market reacts to how people feel. Does anyone really know how either company is doing? Only the executives who run them.
So how are you feeling about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) today? Or Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930)? Which company will be the darling of the stock market tomorrow? Nobody knows until it happens. However, contrarian investors will most likely bet on the company which has seen a 36% decline and which everyone is suddenly bearish on.
