Apple went from investors’ darling to Wall Street whipping boy in a matter of months, and the stock is now down more than 35% from the record high it hit last September. Shares plummeted to levels not seen since 2011 on Wednesday afternoon thanks in part to a recent note from Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek, who said Apple could be in for another couple of “disappointing” quarters as nearly all of its major mobile launches will happen later than expected this year.
Fresh off a trip to visit his contacts in the Far East, Misek reports that three of Apple’s big launches have been pushed back for various reasons.
Starting with its upcoming flagship smartphone refresh, “iPhone 5S is having preproduction issues with mass production at least a month or more away,” the analyst wrote in a recent research note. “This combined with the publicly discussed delay of iOS 7 puts a July availability at risk. We continue to believe there is almost no chance the iPhone 6 launches in CY13 due to supply chain issues.”
This claim is in stark contrast to a report from Bloomberg earlier this week. Also, we don’t recall anyone of note expecting an “iPhone 6” to launch in 2013, but fair enough.
Apple’s upcoming low-cost iPhone has also reportedly been delayed from Apple’s initial target launch date, and it might not hit the market until the fourth quarter this year according to Misek.
Lastly, the analyst says the second-generation iPad mini will likely launch later than expected in the second quarter. He also says initial supply will be limited due to issues Apple’s manufacturing partners are having with the new Retina display.
Despite the bleak picture Misek paints, his view on Apple shares remains unchanged — the analyst reiterated his Hold rating and $420 price target.
