Ugly Day For Apple As $120 Billion Market Value Wiped Out After Shares Tank Nearly 5%

Tech giant Apple¡¯s shares tanked nearly 5% and wiped out roughly $120 billion from the company¡¯s market capitalization today. The day turned ugly for Apple after a rare analyst downgrade by Bank of America exacerbated another wave of selling pressure.

Apple's Market Value Wiped Out By $120 Billion In Mass Sell-off

The iPhone maker¡¯s shares dropped 4.9% after Bank of America downgraded Apple's rating to neutral from the earlier one of ¡®buy¡¯, warning of weaker consumer demand for its popular devices. The sell-off erased roughly $120 billion from Apple¡¯s market capitalization, as per Bloomberg.

Amid the large sell-off that hurt US¡¯ large stocks, Nasdaq 100 Stock Index fell 2.9%. Amazon and Alphabet fell nearly 3%, while Microsoft Corp. dropped 1.5%.

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And that¡¯s not all. Meta Platforms' shares tanked 3.7% after CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined plans to reduce headcount for the first time ever. Meta's shares have fallen 59% this year amid slowing user growth.

Before this mass sell-off occurred, Apple had been treated as a haven for the most part of this year, outperforming fellow mega-caps and the broader tech gauge amid a steep selloff driven by recession fears. The world¡¯s most valuable company, with a current market value of nearly $2.3 trillion, has now fallen about 20% in 2022, compared to a 32% decline for the Nasdaq 100. Apple had begun the year on a strong note after it became the first company to hit the $3 trillion market cap in January 2022.

Also Read; How A Lost iPhone Led To Warren Buffett Investing Billions In Apple

What Bank Of America Said

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With consumer spending expected to cool across regions, Bank of America¡¯s analysts led by Wamsi Mohan said demand for Apple¡¯s services has already slowed and product demand is likely to follow. Pressure from a stronger dollar will only add to its woes, they said, as per Bloomberg.

While ¡°Apple¡¯s long-term prospects remain favourable," Bank of America expects negative estimate revisions and valuation risks in the near term.

The Nasdaq 100 is on pace for its longest streak of quarterly declines in 20 years, yet investors are still bracing for even more pain as the US¡¯ central bank Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates and Wall Street analysts begin cutting profit estimates.

Also Read: Apple Plans To Slow Down Hiring & Cut Spending Next Year

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