Goldman Sachs said today (17) that it expects a 36% drop in iPhone sales during the current quarter because of the coronavirus pandemic and cut the recommendation for Apple shares to “sell”.
Apple shares fell 2% on Friday at 2:16 pm (Brasília time) against a 1.75% rise in the S&P 500. Goldman analysts also reduced Apple’s stock price target by 7%, according to a report that brings the forecast for iPhone sales in the current quarter ending in June and which corresponds to the third fiscal quarter for the company.
Goldman cited that the average selling price of consumer electronics is likely to decline during the expected recession triggered by the pandemic.
“We don’t assume that this recession will cause Apple to lose users relative to the installed base. We just assume that current users will keep their devices longer before switching to newer versions and that they will choose cheaper Apple models when buying new ones,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in the report.