Apple: JMP Says Hold on Hon Hai Deceleration
Shares of Apple are down sharply after JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna today cut his rating on the stock to Market Perform from Outperform, writing that the crisis in Japan threatens to compound what seems already to have been a deceleration in production at Apple’s main contract assembler, Hon Hai Precision.
Gauna cut his fiscal Q2 estimate–that’s the March quarter–from $23 billion to $22 billion, in line with Apple’s forecast, while the Street consensus is still at $23 billion. His EPS estimate drops from $5.49 to $5.10.