Apple Earnings Call: Apple No Longer World’s Most Valuable Company

“Slashing price targets. Seven of the roughly 50 Wall Street brokerage firms that follow Apple stock cut their price targets Thursday, says data from Briefing.com. Compare that with September 2012, when Apple shares were peaking and four Wall Street firms upped their price targets to an average of $757 a share. Prior to Thursday, another five analysts cut price targets in January. Analysts cut targets after price falls because they “want to look less silly,” says Sheraz Mian of Zacks Investment Research.”

“Taking down price targets by a big margin. The seven analysts who cut price targets Thursday took them down by 18% on average to $589 a share, Briefing.com data show. Deutsche Bank, for instance, slashed its price target on Apple from $800 a share to $575, a 28% cut. The average price target for Apple is now $641, down from $720 before earnings were released late Wednesday, says John Butters of FactSet.”

“Cutting their forecasts for earnings. It’s not just analysts’ forecasts for stock prices that are being cut, but their views on fundamentals such as revenue and earnings, too. In the one day after the earnings release, analysts have cut their forecast for Apple’s full-year profit by nearly 7% to $52.39 a share, Butters says.”

Now it’s your turn: what do you think about the future of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)?

Check back here for more updates on Apple Earnings Call.

DISCLOSURE: I have no positions in any stock mentioned.

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