Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) shares were down almost 6% on Wednesday amid a flurry of Wall Street analyst downgrades after the tech giant unveiled the latest versions of the iPhone.
The Nasdaq-100 PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) fell nearly 1%. Apple is the highly traded ETF’s largest holding at 13% of the portfolio. The Nasdaq-100 was underperforming the S&P 500 and Dow on Wednesday due to the sell-off in Apple.
Apple shares were down sharply on heavy trading for the second straight day. On Tuesday, the company unveiled the iPhone 5C, a cheaper version of its trademark phone available in multiple color schemes, along with a high-end version known as the iPhone 5S. [Apple Weighs on Nasdaq-100 ETF as New iPhones Unveiled]
“Many analysts are not happy with the actual iPhones unveiled by Apple on Tuesday. They’re concerned that the iPhone 5C isn’t priced low enough to be able to adequately address emerging markets,” ValueWalk reports. “Analysts who remain positive on Apple, however, say the company’s aggressive launch plan and likely margin stabilization will boost the company’s earnings.”
Analysts at JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Bank of America and UBS were among those who downgraded their ratings on Apple shares.
The stock is in negative territory for 2013 and recently failed to break above $500 a share.
“Apple’s iPhone launch event turned out to be a dampener of sorts, as the company priced what was expected to be a significantly cheaper iPhone at a hefty $550 and did not introduce any new products such as an iTV or an iWatch,” Trefis analysts said in a note.
“Further, at its Chinese event scheduled for Wednesday, the company announced the launch of the new iPhones on China Unicom and China Telecom but gave no indications about another widely anticipated China Mobile deal,” they added. “While it is still possible that the company may announce new products and launch the iPhone on China Mobile’s network in the coming months, the markets did not take kindly to the disappointment.”
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own AAPL and QQQ.