Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock recently crossed a technical threshold that may indicate the Cupertino-based company’s shares will soon rise in value. As noted by MarketWatch, Apple’s stock hit the so-called “golden cross” last week when the 50-day moving average broke above the 200-day moving average.
Some analysts believe that this technical indicator is a sign that a stock is beginning to shift to a bull market. This would be a welcome change for Apple investors that have watched the stock lose over 30 percent of its value since hitting a $700-plus peak in September 2012.
The technical indicator comes during a week when Apple shares lost almost 7 percent of their value after the iPhone maker’s latest entries in the smartphone market failed to impress investors. Apple unveiled the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S at a media event on September 10.
Many investors were expecting that the unsubsidized iPhone 5C would cost approximately $400 or less and would help boost Apple’s share of emerging markets such as China. However, Apple revealed on Tuesday that the plastic iPhone 5C will actually sell for approximately $730 in China, reports Reuters.
UBS analyst Steve Milunovich cited the higher-than-expected cost of the iPhone 5C when he downgraded Apple stock last week. “We are downgrading Apple from buy to neutral on the concern that Apple’s pricing strategy will hamper the company’s ability to be competitive in key growth areas in the smartphone market, particularly in China,” wrote Milunovich in a note to investors via MarketWatch.
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek was similarly disappointed by Apple’s iPhone 5C price, noting that Apple chose to go with a “higher price/lower market share option.” However, Misek also cited “terrible” yield issues with the new fingerprint scanners that lowered his overall iPhone build estimates, reports StreetInsider. Based on both of these factors, Misek lowered his price target on Apple stock from $450 to $425. Here’s how Apple closed out the trading week.
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Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet