Apple's Stock In Danger Of Back-to-back Losses For First Time In Nearly Six Weeks

Apple Inc.'s stock was down 1.3% in morning trade, putting it on track to suffer back-to-back losses for the first time in nearly six weeks, as a raised price target at Stifel Nicolaus was offset by the technology giant's loss of a patent case. Stifel analyst Aaron Rakers kept his rating at buy, but bumped up his target to $150 from $130, citing expectations of continued strong free cash flow growth. He believes Apple has room to raise its annual dividend to about $2.30 to $2.40 a share, which is 22% to 28% above the current dividend of $1.88 a share. Of the 41 analysts who have submitted their price targets to FactSet, Rakers is the eighth to have a target of $150 or higher. The average is $133.68. Apple's stock has now lost 1.9% since closing a record high of $133 on Monday. The last time it fell for at least two straight sessions was when it declined 3.8% during a three-day losing streak ending Jan. 16.