Needham, Wells Fargo cut Apple forecasts in wake of Q2 results
updated 11:35 am EDT, Wed April 24, 2013
Hopes pinned on fall figures
Some analysts have begun to scale back their forecasts for Apple in the wake of the company's second-quarter financial results. Wells Fargo's Maynard Um has reduced earnings-per-share predictions from $44.51 to $38.71 for FY2013, and from $49.86 to $43.66 for FY2014. His valuation range has been sharply reduced, from $600-630 to $485-525. The analyst cites results that were below Street consensus, but does argue that the worst is behind the company, and says he expects results to improve.
Needham & Co.'s Charlie Wolf has reduced his EPS estimates from $45.70 to $38.90 for 2013, and from $52.20 to $41.30 for 2014. The change is pegged to Apple's third-quarter guidance of $34.5 billion in revenue, which to Wolf means there will probably be no new iPhones or iPads in the June quarter, and that going forward, the company's revenue growth will be "far lower" than it has been. He adds however that even if Apple stock is unlikely to rebound to previous highs very quickly, the company's promised buybacks and dividends should "place a floor" under share prices.
