Apple (AAPL) Under Heavy Pressure On iPad Worries

Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) are under heavy pressure Thursday after comments from a research firm stoked investors biggest fear - a slowdown.

A Midwest-based boutique research firm came out today and lowered iPad estimates citing competition, specifically from Amazon's Kindle Fire. The firm cut iPad unit estimates from 14 million to 12 million. EPS estimates were also lowered below the Street consensus. Q1 (Dec) EPS was cut to $9.53, versus the consensus of $9.70.

Today's development follows worries yesterday of a component shortfall at Apple and reports that the company cut Q4 iPhone shipments.

After trading up fractionally ahead of the distribution of the research report, shares are now down 2.8 percent.

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Apple investigating exposure to Tata Electronics data breach, full analysis underway - Reuters
• Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) PT Raised to $368 at BofA Securities
• SanDisk and Micron surge as Apple confirms memory price pass-through