Apple: share price downturn, broker's opinion

(CercleFinance.com) - Apple is down just under 1% in New York after Jefferies downgraded its recommendation on the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.


The broker's price target has nevertheless been raised from $205 to $212.92, with Jefferies pointing to a 'current adjusted 2024 PE of 33 times, close to its all-time high'.

The broker claims to like Apple Intelligence in the long term, as Apple is in its view 'the only hardware-software integrated player that can leverage proprietary data to offer personalized AI services at low cost'.

Jefferies believes, however, that 'smartphone hardware needs to be reworked before it is capable of serious AI', mentioning a horizon of 2026/27, and deems high expectations for the iPhone 16/17 to be 'premature'.

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