AAPL Stock Faces Analyst Downgrades On Looming Tariffs, Supply Chain Pressures: 'A Lose-Lose Choice'

UBS analyst David Vogt has adjusted the price target for Apple Inc. AAPL shares, lowering it from $236 to $210, while retaining a ‘Neutral’ rating. This adjustment has been made in anticipation of widespread tariffs.

What Happened: Vogt observed that Apple seems to have expedited the shipment of around one million iPhones, leading to a year-over-year rise in iPhone revenue for the March quarter, even though demand remained stable or only slightly higher, reported Investing.com.

Given the rise in iPhone shipments and the notable depreciation of the U.S. dollar against global currencies during the quarter, the analyst updated the revenue and EPS projections for March 2025. Consequently, UBS has raised its revenue estimate for Apple’s March quarter by about 2%, adjusting the forecast to $95.5 billion from the earlier $93.5 billion.

Meanwhile, MoffettNathanson Research attributed the pressure on Apple stock to a mix of geopolitical shifts, rising production costs from tariffs, and mounting recession risks. The firm reiterated its “Sell” rating and cut its price target for Apple shares from $184 to $141. “Paying a fortune in tariffs or paying a fortune in rearchitecting supply chains only to finish with much higher costs is a lose-lose choice,” MoffettNathanson analysts said.

The report highlighted that Apple imports from China will continue to be subject to 20% tariffs—an amount that would have seemed unimaginable just a month ago.

Besides tariffs, MoffettNathanson also cites Apple’s slow progress on the AI front and lack of exciting offerings including the foldable iPhones as reasons to be pessimistic.

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Why It Matters: Apple has been facing challenges on multiple fronts. The company was recently fined nearly $800 million by the European Union for violating the bloc’s Digital Markets Act. The fine was imposed for restricting app developers from informing users about alternative sales or promotions outside the App Store and for limiting access to competing app stores on Apple devices.

Furthermore, CNBC commentator Jim Cramer expressed concerns that the stringent China policy of the Trump administration is negatively impacting tech giants like Apple. These factors, combined with the anticipated tariffs, are likely to continue exerting pressure on Apple’s stock.

On the other hand, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng maintained a ‘Buy’ Rating on the stock but lowered its price target. He stated that the reciprocal tariff exemptions on smartphones and PCs announced on April 11 are likely to shield Apple from significant short-term effects.

Benzinga’s Edge Rankings highlight strong momentum and quality rankings for Apple in the 69th and 85th percentiles, respectively. Curious how other stocks stack up? Click here to uncover growth and momentum scores for top stocks.

Apple stock declined more than 7% over the past month, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.