Nasdaq-100 exchange traded funds trailed Friday’s big stock rally as tech giant Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) didn’t join the risk-on party.
Apple is the largest component of PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ). Apple shares closed fractionally lower Friday after dropping below $400.
Analysts usually take Apple’s quarterly guidance with a grain of salt, given that the company tends to lowball its estimates. This time around, analysts largely expected little or no slowdown in iPhone sales; however, they were burned after it was revealed that many customers opted to hold off purchases until the the new iPhone came out, writes Dan Gallagher for MarketWatch. [Nasdaq ETF Falls with Apple; Yahoo Bucks the Trend]
UBS analyst Maynard Um expects iPhone unit sales to jump this quarter if Apple’s international phone carriers plan comes out without a hitch, reports Tiernan Ray for Barron’s. Um holds a Buy rating and a $510 price target.
Jefferey Fidacaro with Susquehanna Investment Group holds a positive rating and a $535 price target. Fidacara attributes the lower Q3 iPhone numbers to the “push-out of a refresh past the typical June time frame [for iPhone introductions.]”