Apple hurt by slowdown fears

Article Excerpt

APPLE INC. $181 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.1 billion; Market cap: $923.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) has dropped 22% from its recent peak of $233 in October 2018. Many companies that make parts for Apple’s iPhone have recently cut their growth forecasts. That product supplies 65% of Apple’s sales, so those weaker projections have fuelled speculation that demand for the company’s new iPhone models will fall short of previous upgrades. As well, Apple announced that it would no longer disclose how many iPhones it sells each quarter. It wants investors to focus on revenue from new services such as its Apple Music streaming service. However, that service faces strong competition from Google and Amazon. Apple is still a hold. hold…