Canaccord Genuity Cuts Apple (AAPL) PT to $600 on Slower iPhone 5S Launch

Canaccord Genuity's T. Michael Walkley lowered his price target on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) from $650 to $600 Thursday but maintained a Buy rating citing a slower iPhone 5S launch and increased competition.

Walkley now expects the iPhone 5S this summer or during Q3/C2013 versus their initial expectation for a launch in June. This is based on market analysis and discussions with suppliers. The analyst said given the recently launched high-end Android smartphones expected to ramp in Q2/C2013, Apple could lose smartphone market share during 1H/C2013 and they have reduced Q3/F2013 iPhone estimates.

"Our discussions with suppliers into Apple left doubts regarding the timing for new iPhone announcements, as suppliers had limited near-term visibility into the timing of ramping sales into leading smartphone OEMs other than Samsung," Walkley stated.

The analyst lowered June quarter iPhone estimates from 36M to 25M units. However, they have increased September quarter iPhone estimates from 38M to 39.6M units to reflect an August launch for the iPhone 5S.

The firm lowered F2013 EPS estimate from $45.70 to $43.59 and F2014 EPS estimate from $53.68 to $50.00.

Longer term, the analyst maintains a belief Apple has a strong product pipeline that should result in reaccelerating Y/Y earnings growth during the Sept. quarter.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Apple click here. For more ratings news on Apple click here.

Shares of Apple closed at $454.49 yesterday.

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