Apple shares close lower on Wednesday, certain MacBook Pro laptops banned from flights by the FAA

A selection of Apple Inc’s MacBook Pro laptop models have been banned on flights by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), after the tech giant recalled certain devices due to risk of battery fire.

Apple shares closed lower for the sixth time in the past eleven trading sessions on NASDAQ on Wednesday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since August 5th. The stock went down 2.98% ($6.22) to $202.75, after touching an intraday low at $202.56 and an intraday high at $206.46.

Shares of Apple Inc have added 28.53% to their value so far in 2019 compared with a 13.31% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Apple’s stock went down 6.79%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

In June, the tech company said that a limited number of 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops would be recalled, because their batteries could overheat.

“The FAA is aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops,” a spokesperson for the FAA said in an emailed statement, cited by Reuters.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 36 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $226.67, with a high estimate of $270.00 and a low estimate of $150.00. The median estimate represents an 11.80% upside compared to the closing price of $202.75 on August 14th.

The same media also reported that at least 19 out of 40 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 15 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 4 analysts had recommended selling the stock.