Apple will have to 'seriously contemplate' changes for the iPhone next year, says Wedbush

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Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives cut his price target on shares of Apple Inc. to $275 from $310 on Wednesday, writing of the "horror show over the last month" but defending his bullish rating. Ives had been the most upbeat Apple analyst tracked by FactSet before he reduced his target. "We ultimately believe Apple will need to seriously contemplate pricing changes and/or design changes with the next cycle of iPhones slated for the fall of 2019 to drive a surge of upgrade activity that has moved out of FY19 and into FY20," he wrote. Ives said that the company will also have to "significantly invest (organically and through acquisitions) in its content/services strategy over the next 12 to 18 months to drive more growth initiatives." He called the downbeat data points regarding iPhone XR and XS demand out of China "a clear worry that will be a drag on earnings and growth in FY19." Apple shares are up 1.2% in premarket trading Wednesday, though they're off 19% in the past month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen 0.2% in that time.