According to media reports, as Apple is about to release its December 2024 quarterly financial report, investors' concerns about its stock price are becoming increasingly obvious.

Dow Jones market data shows that as of December, about 157 million Apple shares were short-selled, accounting for 1% of the outstanding shares, reaching the highest level since August 2020, with the average short-selling ratio of the S&P 500 being 2.8%.

Apple's stock price has fallen by about 10% this year, mainly affected by weak iPhone sales and uncertain AI outlook.

Canalys data shows that Apple's iPhone shipments in China declined in 2024, with market share falling to third place, lagging behind vivo and Huawei.

Jefferies analyst Edison Lee lowered Apple's stock rating from "hold" to "under-market" and lowered its target price from $211.84 to $200.75, citing concerns over weak iPhone demand and consumers' upgrades to smartphone AIInadequate interest.

Since the announcement of the Global Developer Conference in June 2024, Apple's AI features have been slow to promote and have failed to effectively boost iPhone sales.

UBS analyst David Vogt also lowered his iPhone sales expectations and gave Apple stock a "neutral" rating with a target price of $236.

However, some analysts are still optimistic about Apple's future. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives gave Apple stock a "outperform" rating with a target price of $325, believing that the market's pessimism about Apple is too exaggerated.

Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani is also optimistic about the upcoming financial report and expects iPhone sales to continue to improve throughout the year.