After Appleis announcement yesterday that earnings for this quarter are going to be lower than previously expected, the downgrading of Appleis stock began in full force.
MacCentral is reporting that three major companies, Bear, Stearns and Co. Inc., Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter and Co. and Paine Webber Inc., have downgraded Appleis stock , and as a result AAPL is taking an absolute beating today. At the time of this writing, AAPL was hovering around 27 per share, down from yesterdayis close of 53 1/2.
According to the MacCentral article:
"On a grander scale, Appleis miss really points to one of two things," a Paine Webber advisement said Friday. "Appleis comeback is over or there was a worldwide softening in consumer PC demand in September for all PC vendors, especially Apple because of its large exposure to the consumer. We are casting our vote that this problem is unique to Apple."
Andrew Neff at Bear, Sterns and Co. downgraded Apple to "Neutral" from "Buy." Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Co. also downgraded Apple to "Neutral" from "Buy."
Stay tuned for further coverage throughout the day, and be sure to read this afternoonis Apple Stock Watch article for a recap of the dayis events.