Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL, -1.48% dropped 0.8% in premarket trading Monday, putting them on track to snap a five-day win streak, after Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White slashed his price target by more than 12%, citing concerns over an economic recession, regulatory headwinds and market volatility.
White cut his stock price target to $174 from $199. But as the lowered price target still represents 18.3% upside from Friday’s closing price of $147.04, White reiterated his buy rating, saying Apple’s portfolio has “never been stronger,” but the technology giant is now battling a “more perilous” environment. “Similar to the characters in the classic movie, ‘The Towering Inferno,’ the current environment also began with wishful thinking that a hazardous accident could be contained and quickly extinguished, followed by setbacks and concerns, then fleeting moments of hope that a catastrophe had been averted altogether; however, we fear it will take a deluge of extraordinary forces to put out this blaze and avoid further destruction,” White wrote in a note to clients. The stock, which had run up 7.5% over the past five sessions, has slumped 17.2% year to date through Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.52% has declined 13.8%.