CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: We hold our 12-month target at $210 on a P/E of 29x our CY 25 EPS of $7.25, above peers. We keep our FY 24 (Sep.) EPS at $6.56 and adjust FY 25 to $7.10 from $7.20. AAPL posts Dec-Q EPS of $2.18 vs. $1.88, beating the $2.10 consensus. Sales rose 2%, beating expectations, led by iPhone growth of 6%, while Services grew 11%. Macs returned to growth (+1%) on easier comps and product launches (M3 chip) while iPads fell 25% (lack of new products) and Wearables -11%. Weaker Mar-Q sales outlook (implies 5% Y/Y decline on tough iPhone comps) and 13% China decline (down mid-single-digit CC) were notable negatives. Although China’s softness implies share loss, growth across the rest of Asia (+7%), installed base rise (2.2B […]

By Brian Swint Apple shares were falling in Friday’s premarket after the company reported earnings. Analysts said that a lack of new products was an issue as well as the slump in China, a key market for the iPhone maker. “Both the Americas segment and China segment came in below expectations, and we do not believe the dynamics are likely to change in the near term, ” said KeyBanc analysts led by Brandon Nispel. “This, paired with Apple’s still premium valuation and limited growth, suggests that Apple is likely to be range-bound and perform in line with the Nasdaq at best.” KeyBanc gives Apple stock a rating of Sector Weight, without a price target. The shares fell 2.4% to $182.44 in early trading. Coming into the session, the had dropped 5.8% over the past three months, though they’re still up 21% from a year ago. Piper Sandler was also pessimistic

Apple posted revenue ahead of expectations for the October-to-December quarter, but guidance for the iPhone maker’s fiscal second quarter is underwhelming, J.P. Morgan analysts write in a note to investors. For the current March quarter, Apple expects total revenue and iPhone sales to be flat on year, excluding about $5 billion in sales in the January-to-March period last year due to pent-up demand. The adjustments implies total revenue guidance of roughly $90 billion and iPhone sales of about $46 billion, both below J.P. Morgan’s $95.6 billion and $49.4 billion forecasts, the analysts note. Apple shares are down more than 2% pre-market.