Apple Stock Downgraded At Bank Of America

Apple Inc.'s stock was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America on Wednesday on the belief that there are few catalysts to trigger big share-price increases in the near term. Analyst Wamsi Mohan predicted continued near-term pressures on shares as iPhone growth starts to slow and other new initiatives, such as Apple Watch, Apple Pay and Apple Music, take time to ramp up. The stock price, he said, is correlated to gross profit dollar growth, which is expected to "decelerate significantly" over the next few years despite strong demand for iPhones. "Share gains will be more difficult to come by," said Mohan. He also believes that while the iPhone 6S, expected to be unveiled in September, will likely drive some upgrade among Apple's existing iPhone-user installed base, it won't be "compelling enough" to drive a significant change in the pace of share gains. Apple's stock fell 0.7% to $113.90 in premarket trade, putting shares in danger for their sixth-straight loss. The stock has fallen 9% over the last three months, underperforming the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 2%.