Shares of Apple were down 4.5% on Thursday after Bank of America analysts delivered the stock a rare downgrade.
The analysts lowered their rating from buy to neutral, also cutting its price target from $185 to $160 per share. They said they anticipated “weaker consumer demand” over the next year and pointed to macroeconomic challenges.
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The broader market was also negative on Thursday, but Apple’s fall was still greater than major indexes like the S&P 500, which was down 2.5% Thursday morning.
The downgrade came on the heels of a Bloomberg report Wednesday that said Apple had told some suppliers to abandon plans to ramp up production for its new iPhone 14 after failing to see as high demand as anticipated. That also put pressure on Apple’s stock.
A second firm disagreed with the BofA rating, however. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded its rating on Apple from neutral to buy and raised its price target to $189 from $160, implying a 25% rally from current levels. It made the call after its survey of over 1,000 U.S. adults showed strong demand for even the pricier new Apple products.
Rosenblatt cast doubt on the production report, writing that there’s “a recent history of comparable reports proving to be misleading when actuals come out.”
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.