Loop Capital downgrades Apple from “Buy” to “Hold” and cuts its price target to $330, saying it now expects Apple will not recover a projected shortfall of about 13 million iPhone shipments removed from its second-half 2026 plans. The change follows updated supply chain checks that lead the firm to revise prior assumptions that supply constraints—particularly memory and processors—would ease and allow delayed units to be shipped later.
Loop’s revised view centers on a staggered iPhone release cycle that makes shipment recovery harder to assess. For the December quarter, it forecasts 79 million iPhone shipments, below an initial estimate of 85 million, and it lowers its expectation for average selling price. While Loop expects higher iPhone shipments in 2027 than previously forecast, it also projects lower pricing and reduced iPhone revenue, alongside concerns that rising memory chip costs could affect profit margins.
Across coverage, outlets emphasize the downgrade and the iPhone recovery narrative, with added detail varying by source: MacRumors highlights the shipment gap and the role of Apple’s split launch schedule, AppleInsider focuses on the “complicated” 2026–2027 cycle and the stock target cut, and ZeroHedge leads with renewed iPhone demand worry and memory-cost margin risks.
