(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. shares fell as much as 5.6 percent in early trading on Tuesday, with the stock falling into bear-market territory after Goldman Sachs cut its price target for the third time this month, citing signs of weak iPhone demand in China and other emerging markets.
Analyst Rod Hall lowered his price target to $182 from $209. Previously, he dropped it from $240 to $222 on Nov. 2, and then again to $209 on Nov. 13. He has a neutral rating on the stock.
“In addition to weakness in demand for Apple’s products in China and other emerging markets it also looks like the balance of price and features in the iPhone XR may not have been well-received by users outside of the US,” Hall wrote in a note to clients.
The latest target reduction was done in part “to reflect current price movement,” he said. Shares of Apple have dropped more than 20 percent from an early-October record, pushing the Dow component into bear-market territory. The stock is on track for its seventh decline of the past nine trading days.
Recent weakness has come on growing concerns over iPhone demand. A number of Apple suppliers have recently cut their forecasts, and on Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had cut production orders for all three of the iPhone models that it unveiled in September.
Goldman sees “material risk to March quarter guidance if current demand trends continue to play out,” Hall wrote.
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