Apple's Stock Price Dips Ahead of WWDC as Analyst Issues Rare Downgrade

Apple LogoApple shares are trading around 1 percent lower today, just ahead of WWDC 2017, after one analyst issued a rare downgrade of the stock.

"We are downgrading AAPL to Sector Weight and recommend investors reduce position sizes," said Andy Hargreaves, equity research analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, in a note to clients. "We believe AAPL anticipates strong performance in the iPhone 8 cycle, while providing relatively little weight to risks through the cycle or the potential for iPhone sales to decline in fiscal 2019."

Wall Street remains largely upbeat about Apple's stock heading into the second half of this year, as investors anticipate the so-called "iPhone 8" to be a hit among customers, but Hargreaves believes the stock has limited upside, as he said hype surrounding the hotly-anticipated device appears to be "priced in."

Hargreaves anticipates the upside of the iPhone 8 to be offset by key risks, including the "potential for gross margin pressure, diminishing value of the mobile operating system, and the likelihood for declines in iPhone unit sales beyond the iPhone 8 cycle due to market saturation and elongating."

Hargreaves also believes iPhone sales will likely resume declining in 2019, as the iPhone 8 will result in above-average sales in 2018 that are unlikely to be matched once Apple returns to a normalized upgrade rate, similar to what happened after pent-up demand for the larger-screened iPhone 6 started to fade.

AAPL was trading at $153.85 at the time of publication, after opening at $154.34, but remains only slightly off its all-time high.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

SoyCapitanSoyCapitan Avatar
111 months ago
The dongles are here to stay - as Apple shoots itself!
Other than Intel updates (and may be AMD), nothing to see for the person who bought a computer in 2015!
You must have missed how important the changes are in macOS. Instant copy and duplication is going to impossible to live without.

iOS 11 on the iPad is a massive change and finally brings desktop level computing experience to the tablet.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michaelgtrusa Avatar
111 months ago
I see this as a money hungry scam.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RumorConsumer Avatar
111 months ago
Wow that iMac Pro. Guess Apple really cares about the Mac after all huh guys? I never doubted.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdriftmeyer Avatar
111 months ago
Price manipulation right on schedule.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pat500000 Avatar
111 months ago
Analysts are the real downgrades.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stewy Avatar
111 months ago
Shouldn't somebody here be bragging about how much money they've made on apple stock by now? :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)