The highly anticipated launch of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 15 left both investors and Wall Street feeling underwhelmed.
On Tuesday, the world's most valuable company unveiled its new iPhone models, and the event unfolded largely as anticipated. The only surprise was the absence of a price increase for the iPhone Pro, which many analysts had expected. However, Apple did raise the starting price for the Pro Max by $100.
Historically, Apple's stock has seen an average increase of 5% in the three months following the release of a new iPhone, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Nevertheless, in early trading on Wednesday, Apple's stock dipped by 0.9% to $174.7, following a 1.7% decline to $176.30 on Tuesday.
Apple stock declining after a major product launch is not an uncommon occurrence — the company’s stock has fallen after seven of last 10 iPhone launches. Prior to the event, however, Apple's shares had already declined by almost 6% in the preceding week. This decline can be attributed to growing concerns regarding Apple's business prospects in China.
In China, there are worries about potential restrictions on the iPhone's use by government workers, in addition to increased competition from local player Huawei. Huawei has recently launched a new phone that reportedly offers performance specifications that are on par with Apple's premium devices. Reuters reported Tuesday that Huawei has boosted its shipment target for its new Mate 60 series smartphone by 20% for this year.
Taking into account the decline on Tuesday, Apple has lost approximately $210 billion in market capitalization over the past week. To put this in perspective, this is more than the market value of nearly 94% of the companies listed on the S&P 500 (USA500).
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Markets.com Chief Market Analyst Neil Wilson dismissed the recent launch as unsurprising:
“Apple was a bit of a nothing-burger...pricing power is ok, the ecosystem is still super strong. People will upgrade, but [that’s] nothing we didn’t know already.”
A range of analysts quoted by Barron’s reporter Callum Keown showed mixed reviews on the stock, with most maintaining their projections following the launch event.
KeyBanc analysts saw the product launch as being “slightly negative” for the stock but maintained an Overweight rating and a $200 price target.
Evercore ISI analysts viewed the event as “mildly disappointing,” and suggested that a price hike for the Pro model could have helped offset the effects of Huawei's newly launched smartphone.
“Investors typically go into this event with relatively low expectations given it has been a long time since we have seen a major change to the iPhone design or functionality, but investors were hoping to see a $100 bump to the cost of the Pro, which would’ve helped offset any potential headwinds from Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro Launch,” they said.
Evercore ISI still maintains an Outperform rating on AAPL stock, with a price target of $210.
Rosenblatt Securities reiterated its Neutral rating on the stock and maintained a $198 price target, as per MarketBeat.
Not everyone had a negative perspective on the September 12 launch event. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives raised his Apple stock price target from $230 to $240 while maintaining an Outperform rating, adding that the upgrade cycle in the next year would pleasantly surprise investors. Ives said that the absence of a price increase for the iPhone 15 Pro was expected, while the price hike for the Pro Max was a “smart strategic move.”
Ives anticipates a shift in consumer preferences towards the Pro models over the standard model, with a split of 75% to 25%, in contrast to the 60% to 40% ratio observed in recent years. This shift is expected to be a significant positive factor for the company's average selling price, according to the analyst.
On September 13, the average Apple stock price target cited by TipRanks was $207.10, with a high forecast of $240.00 and a low forecast of $167.00. The platform's projection was based on the opinions of 30 Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for Apple in the last 3 months.
As per Marketwatch data, AAPL stock has lost close to 4.9% in the past three months, but its year-to-date are close to 35%.
When considering Apple stock price forecasts, remember that trading involves a significant degree of risk and could result in capital loss. Past performance is not indicative of any future results. This information is provided for informative purposes only and should not be construed to be investment advice.
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