Needham revised down its quarterly earnings and full-year revenue forecasts for Apple Inc (AAPL), citing an impact from the Wuhan-originated coronavirus on the tech giant’s supply chain.
The firm maintained a “Buy” rating and a 12-month price target of $350 on the stock.
Apple shares closed lower for a fourth consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Tuesday. It has also been the largest four-day string of losses in at least a year. The stock went down 3.39% ($10.10) to $288.08, after touching an intraday low at $286.15, or a price level not seen since December 30th 2019 ($285.22).
Shares of Apple Inc have retreated 1.90% so far in 2020 compared with a 3.17% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2019, Apple’s stock went up 86.16%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.
Needham revised down its second-quarter earnings forecast to $2.47 per share from $2.99 per share previously and its third-quarter earnings forecast to $2.44 per share from $2.76 per share expected earlier.
The company also cut its full-year revenue forecast to $268.76 billion from $282.92 billion expected previously.
Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation
According to CNN Money, the 37 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $350.00, with a high estimate of $400.00 and a low estimate of $190.00. The median estimate represents a 21.49% upside compared to the closing price of $288.08 on February 25th.
The same media also reported that at least 22 out of 41 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 14 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.
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