Apple Shares Straddle Key Technical Level Ahead of Earnings

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Apple Inc. are trading around a key 100-day moving average of $166.81 today after a Deutsche Bank analyst wrote in a note that the IPhone X is priced too high for mass adoption and that Street estimates for the March and June quarters are too high.
 
The timing of the share drop may be ominous, coming just two days before Apple reports first quarter results and five days after it breached the 50-day moving average $172.93.  The 100-day moving average has been a key level for Apple over the past year, with the shares only briefly dipping below that level twice in late June/early July and again in September.

The stock has been under pressure recently as analysts have steadily ratcheted down their estimates for the iPhone X, citing concerns over its high price, longer replacement cycles and weak demand in China. If Apple’s earnings or forecast substantially miss analyst estimates later this week, the next key technical level would be the 200-day moving average of $159.10, or roughly four percent below current prices.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Sweeney in New York at ssweeney39@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper

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