Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt downgraded Apple from "Outperform" to "Market Perform" on Friday over concerns that Apple Watch won't live up to investor expectations. His concern is that, following early product reviews, Apple Watch won't hit the "insanely great benchmark."
Apple Watch reviews spur Raymond James analyst to downgrade AAPL
The general consensus from early reviews is that you'll want Apple Watch, but don't need it. That, coincidentally, is exactly what can be said about anything that isn't necessary for basic survival needs—like oxygen.
"Although the financial impact of the Apple Watch is almost immaterial near term, we are concerned that relatively muted reviews so far could place added fear in investors' minds about the company's ability to launch successful new product categories," Mr. McCourt said, according to MarketWatch.
He thinks Apple won't be able to maintain it's current rate of year-over-year growth for sales and profits because Apple Watch won't be warmly received.
Mr. McCourt's change comes only hours after pre-order sales began where delivery times were pushed out to June within the first half hour of availability. Apple Watch will officially be available on April 24, and pre-orders placed within the first few minutes showed delivery between the 24th and May 8.
Apple is currently trading at US$126.80, up 0.24 (0.19%).