How did “Apple” lose $130 billion of its market value in just 3 sessions?

Mounting concerns over iPhone sales have led to Apple’s rating being downgraded for the second time this week, reinforcing the cautious approach taken by analysts.

Harsh Kumar from Piper Sandler & Co. downgraded his rating for Apple today, Thursday, mentioning the weak macro environment in China that could lead to a decrease in demand for iPhone devices.

In a memo, Kumar expressed concern about the inventories of phones and downgraded his recommendation for Apple to neutral from overweight after having a bullish outlook since March 2020. He stated, “Growth rates for unit sales have reached their peak.”

Kumar’s downgrade follows a more bearish move by their peers at Barclays PLC, where analysts led by Tim Long lowered their rating to underweight on Tuesday.

By the year 2024, Apple had become one of the major tech stocks with the fewest bullish recommendations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and reviewed by Al Arabiya Business. The recent downgrade by Piper Sandler is now pushing the equivalent buy ratio for the company even lower, with the proportion of analysts optimistic about the company at its lowest point in three years.

Apple Inc. was the sole major technology company to experience a revenue contraction over the past four quarters. Wall Street presently forecasts a modest revenue growth of only 3.6% for the fiscal year 2024 and a profit increase of 7.9%, based on the average analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The stock, which had climbed by nearly 50% last year, stumbled in the initial sessions of 2024. It has fallen by 4.3% this year, wiping out nearly $130 billion in market value. Shares are now on the brink of entering an oversold territory and appear poised to extend their losses for a fourth consecutive session.

While Wall Street is nearly unanimous in its optimism about large technology companies, it exercises more caution when it comes to Apple. The stock has only attracted 33 equivalent buy recommendations. This is modest compared to Amazon, which received 68 ratings, Meta Platforms Inc that garnered 66 positive ratings, and Nvidia, which has 59.