Apple(US:AAPL) Finboldยท2024-10-01 17:51Group 1 - Citi analyst Atif Malik maintains a 'Buy' rating for Apple (AAPL) with a price target of $255 despite lowering iPhone sales forecasts for the September and December quarters by two million units each, projecting total iPhone 16 sales of 83 million units by year-end [1][2] - For the full calendar years of 2024 and 2025, iPhone sales are expected to be 224 million and 246 million units, reflecting a 3% decline in 2024 but a 9% growth in 2025, driven by consumers delaying upgrades in anticipation of the upcoming Apple Intelligence platform [2][3] - Barclays has noted weak demand for the iPhone 16, suggesting Apple may lower production orders by nearly 3 million units for the December quarter, with September quarter sales projected at 51 million units [4][6] Group 2 - Despite the revisions, some metrics have improved, with JP Morgan reporting that iPhone 16 base model shipping times in the U.S. decreased from 17 days to 10 days in the third week, indicating a potential stabilization in demand [4][5] - Evercore ISI retains an 'Outperform' rating for AAPL with a price target of $250, citing the drop in delivery windows for the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models as a confidence booster for investors [5] - Following the sales forecast revisions, AAPL's share price fell by 3.6% in the last 24 hours, trading at $224, with a weekly decline of 1% [6][7]