Apple investors nervous about 2016 comparisons
Investors are discounting Apple (AAPL) stock as the company approaches fiscal 2016, which starts Sept. 27 and is expected to face tough comparisons with the current fiscal year, UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said in a research report Tuesday. “Since the launch of the iPhone 6 in September, Apple’s P/E multiple has diverged from the rising trajectory of the S&P 500, with the discount expanding from 5% to nearly 20% currently,” Milunovich said. “We believe the likely reason is concern about the upcoming slowdown in revenue and earnings growth as the iPhone 6 anniversaries as well as memories of the disastrous iPhone 5 cycle. Our view is that most of the risk of fiscal 2016 is already discounted in the valuation.” For Apple stock to hold its ground, iPhone unit sales probably will need to be flat in fiscal 2016, Milunovich says. That’s possible, he adds,…