Apple, new downgrade and stock market collapse
Apple received its second negative rating from analysts in a week, with downgrades from both Barclays and Piper Sandler. These pessimistic ratings indicate less favorable prospects for the company's shares in the future, as reported by La Stampa. This series of negative ratings had a significant impact on Wall Street, with a loss of Shares fell 1.51% yesterday and are down 4.05% year to date.
Analysts expect the company to face challenges this year related to two main factors. First, China is a cause for concern due to a potential restriction by Beijing officials on the sale of iPhones, amid growing tensions with Washington. Furthermore, the rise of new Chinese-made smartphones, particularly Huawei and Honor, is seen as a threat to the domestic market, even to the detriment of Apple's iconic devices. The last quarter saw a decline, particularly in China, where revenues fell short of expectations, recording 15 billion dollars instead of the expected 17 billion.
Despite this, it is important to highlight that Apple experienced notable growth in 2023, with a 50% increase in stock value, going from 120 to 170 dollars per share. Currently, it remains the most capitalized company in the world, with a market value of $3 trillion. In 2023, together with Nvidia, it helped the Nasdaq technology stocks grow by 43%. However, Apple, mainly focused on hardware products, is not benefiting at the moment of the growing demand for Artificial Intelligence.
Despite the previous year's positive results, 2024 proved to be difficult for Apple. At the end of December, he had to stop selling of iWatches due to allegations of patent infringement. Forecasts for the sale of the iPhone 15 e of the subsequent iPhone 16 are negative, despite the queues still present in the stores. Furthermore, Microsoft is closing on the Nasdaq and threatening to overtake Apple in terms of value, an opportunity that hasn't happened in many years.
#Apple #downgrade #stock #market #collapse #reasons
