Goldman Sachs is growing concerned about Apple Inc., and it is not alone.
While shares of the iPhone maker (AAPL) have been stronger of late, the advance comes in contrast to a darker view toward the stock from analysts. Goldman is merely the latest example of growing caution as it cut its price target to one of the lowest on the Street.
The consensus rating for Apple -- a proxy for its ratio of buy, hold and sell ratings -- stands at 3.76 out of 5. According to Bloomberg data, that matches the lowest since the first half of 2004.
Shares of Apple fell as much as 2.1% on Friday, though the stock has risen more than 13% off an August low and is less than 6% below its record close. While it slipped back under the threshold with Friday’s decline, its valuation returned above $1 trillion for this first in 2019 this week.
Goldman analyst Rod Hall cut his target to $165 from $187, warning of a “material negative impact” to the company’s earnings per share as a result of a plan to offer a trial period for its Apple TV+ service.
The new target is 26% below Apple’s Thursday close, and while Hall has a neutral rating on the stock, there are only a couple of firms with a target below Goldman’s, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average target is about $219, matching the current share price.
In addition to Goldman, recent cautious calls have included New Street Research cutting its own price target earlier this week -- it warned of a “multi-year decline” for iPhone demand -- and Rosenblatt downgrading shares in July, resulting in the highest number of sell ratings since at least 1997, according to historical data compiled by Bloomberg.
All five of the sell ratings on the stock have come in this year, and in January, the number of firms with buy ratings dropped below 50% for the first time since 2004.
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