In a report published Wednesday, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang reiterated a ‘Neutral’ rating and a $102 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
In the report, Zhang noted that overall iPhone sales in China, presumably in dollars, were down 6% on a year-over-year basis in November. Furthermore, he estimates that iPhone sales are “still weaker than retail channels” as discounting of Cupertino’s flagship device has popped up across Mainland. According to Zhang, month-over-month sales are also moderately down due to some pushes in “single day” sales.
The analyst, who cautions Apple stockholders not to be mislead if they hear of component orders rising come the March quarter-this based on the fact Zhang sees parts sliding 40% on quarter-over-quarter basis, also notes that iPhone 7 sales will keep “trending down” and that “many retailers in China have already started discounting ($50) the [device] in November.”
For Q117, Zhang has forecast iPhone 7 A10 processor orders to fall in the range of 41–42 million units.
There’s no doubt the tech giant’s iPhone business is in a slump. In the second-quarter of 2016 Apple reported that iPhone sales, the co.’s most important product that accounts for two-thirds of all sales, slowed for the first time ever since the product launched in June 2007. What’s more, iPhone sales are still declining and Apple’s iPhone business doesn’t seen to be returning to growth, and that’s a big “maybe”, until next year when Apple releases iPhone 8, its highly anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone refresh.
In other Apple news today, Bloomberg reports that Apple is in talks with Hollywood film studios to offer new films as high-priced home rentals. 21st Century Fox, Time Warner’s (NYSE:TWX) Warner Bros., and Comcast’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Universal Pictures have all said over the past week that they are exploring offering high-priced, home-video rentals of new movies shortly after their theater releases, the report says. Certain studio execs have been pushing to allow home rentals as early as two weeks after theatrical debuts and are weighing a deal with iTunes as one option, the report says.
AAPL Stock Action
Shares of Apple rose less than 1 percent to $110.80 in midday trading in New York. The stock is down nearly 7 percent this year.
On valuation measures, Apple stock is currently priced at 13.34x this year’s forecasted earnings and 11x forward forecasted earnings. The company’s current year and next year EPS growth estimates stand at 8.70% and 11.60%, respectively. AAPL has a t-12 price/sales ratio of 2.75. EPS for the same period registers at $8.31.
Ticker has advanced 1.02% in the last 4 weeks and nearly 2% in the past three months. Over the past 5 trading sessions the equity has lost 1.35%. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company, currently valued at about $592 billion, has a median Street price target of $133 with a high target of $185. AAPL is down 4.97% year-over-year, up 6.78% since the beginning of the year.
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