Apple Stock (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Even though investment firm Barclays lowered its earnings estimates, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock managed to post a fractional gain in premarket trading on Wednesday. The firm cited the company’s recent production issues in China and “weakening demand” across specific hardware categories as the primary reasons for its decision.
Analyst Tim Long, who has an equal-weight recommendation on Apple stock, recently cut his predictions for the current quarter, the next quarter, and all of fiscal 2023. He did so because recent inspections in China and from partners in the supply chain could have been more optimistic.
In a statement that he sent out to clients, Long said that “what started out as production-driven reduction has progressed to demand weakness across product categories.” “We are also worried about the slowdown in the expansion of the services industry. As a result, we are revising our projections.”
In the following first quarter, Long anticipates that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will earn $1.85 per share, a decrease from the prior estimate of $2.02 per share. Most analysts on Wall Street believe that Apple will bring in $122.95 billion in sales and earn $1.98 per share.
Long anticipates that the firm will earn $1.37 per share in the March quarter, a decrease from his earlier prediction that the company would earn $1.46 per share in the period. In addition, he reduced his forecast for profits per share for the entire year of 2023 to $5.82, which is lower than his earlier projection of $6.13.
“We consider the Apple stock as moderately priced at best,” Long said, explaining that “with a 20% premium to the S&P 500, we see the stock as fairly valued.”
The following month, Apple is expected to release the financial results for the first quarter of its current fiscal year.
Wedbush Securities, an investment company, said today that Apple is still the firm’s top bet for a “missed” tech industry in 2023.
Featured Image: Unsplash © Laurenz Heymann
Author Shariq Khan 
