AAPL down sharply after two ratings cuts

Bad day for Big Rainbow: RBC Capital's Mike Abramsky and Morgan Stanley's Kathryn Huberty cut their ratings and price targets on Apple stock, both citing weakness in consumer spending on PCs. AAPL was down 17.38 at 110.86 (-13.58%) as of this writing: a 20-minute-delayed chart is above. Abramsky's price target on AAPL shares is now $140 (down from $200), while Huberty's is lower at $115 (down from $178). Huberty also notes Apple will struggle because the company "does not play" in the sub-$1,000 laptop market. In a slim bit of good news, Abramsky raised his estimate of the number of iPhone units sold during the fourth quarter to six million, up from five. AAPL's price during the trading day has been its lowest in over a year.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bernstein analyst pushes for Apple stock buyback

Apple should be using its massive cash reserve for a stock buyback, argues Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research. The analyst notes that Apple stock is trading at approximately 15 to 18 times earnings -- an unusually low ratio for the company -- and it thus has the rare opportunity to create a substantial EPS payoff for investors. "Mathematically," says Sacconaghi, "share buybacks boost EPS only...

MacBook price drops takes AAPL stock price down with it

Section: Apple, Apple News, Updates, Conferences, Mac + Computers, Laptops, MacBook And so it goes with Wall Street. Half an hour before Apple’s MacBook event today, Apple was trading at $109.80 (down 0.46). We’re now half an hour after the event, and AAPL is down -5.39 to 104.87. This tends to be the trend with Wall Street, though where Apple almost always drops after a keynote. Whether this is due to products not meeting expectations, the continuing belief that people will eventually quit paying the premium for Apple products, or to any number of other factors that I don’t get paid six figures to understand, I’ll leave to those who do get paid six figures to understand. Regarding said premium, I find it somewhat amusing that Apple’s only option, apparently, to hit the sub-$1,000 market on MacBooks was to lower the price of the low-end MacBook by $100 and not give it the updates of the other models. If our economy wasn’t in shambles right now, would Apple have even bothered with this? Why keep that old style MacBook around at all when everything else is going Aluminum, other than to have something...anything out there with a price that doesn’t require a comma? And will anyone really buy it just to save $300? Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

AAPL up nearly 14% among broad market gains

Shares of Apple stock closed higher today, among a widespread buying spree that pushed the Dow Industrials up a record-breaking 936 points. AAPL closed at $110.26 per share, an increase of $13.46. Nearly 55 million shares changed hands. Microsoft, Dell, Google, HP, Sun, and AT&T also posted double-digit percentage gains for the day. Analyst firm Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Apple stock to "outperform" this morning, saying the company's short-term prognosis looks good, despite the dip in the market. Bernstein did, however, cut its price target by $50 to $135. AAPL was up slightly in after-hours trading.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs conflict on Apple stock

New analysis of Apple's difficult financial situation has yielded two significantly different views. Richard Gardner of Citigroup has cut his price target for Apple stock by more than $100, down to $170 from $287. Blame is laid on a 3 percent decline in industry computer sales, and a 12 percent drop in music revenue throughout 2008. Apple's guidance, normally thought by analysts to be too conse...

Credit Suisse lowers AAPL target, 'stop loss' figure

Analyst Steven Soranno of Credit Suisse has joined other firms in devaluing Apple stock, reports say. Soranno comments that while Apple has a solid base with good products, the company cannot help but be affected by the overall economy, which is plagued by failing banks and limited credit. In spite of Credit posting a $200 target last month, Soranno says he is now lowering this figure to $160, t...