KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel downgraded Apple to Underweight from Sector Weight with a $200 price target. The firm’s consumer survey “disproves one major bull case” that the iPhone SE is not purely additive to iPhone sales. In addition, the analyst cites data points surrounding U.S. iPhone upgrades for the downgrade. They were 3% in Q3, down 9% year-over-year for Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Expectations call for Apple’s highest growth in three years and a major inflection in all geographies and products, which has rarely occurred throughout its history, contends KeyBanc. As such, the firm feels Apple shares are expensive relative its history and peers.
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