Barclays Says to Ignore Apple's (AAPL) Weak Q2 Guidance - It's Expected

Barclays' analysts told investors to look past potential soft second-quarter guidance from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) in a research note earlier Wednesday. Apple shares just closed up 0.55 percent to $413.50.

Keeping an Overweight rating, $555 price target, and all estimates unch, the firm said Apple's outlook for the second quarter 2012 will employ the typical "conservatism."

Currently, Barclays is modeling for an 18 percent decline in second-quarter revs to $32.06 billion, but that is stronger than Apple's historical move of forecasting revenue to fall 27 percent from the first quarter on average.

Other factors to consider include one less week in the March quarter, iPad production transition, and the weaker euro.

Barclays sees Apple guiding margins flat-to-down sequentially, "given potential for iPad price declines with a new product introduction in the March/April time frame."

The research note wrapped it up by saying any second-quarter guidance concerns will be short-lived, with so many positives still ahead for fiscal 2012.

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