Citi analyst—not Jim Suva—cuts iPhone X Max estimate

From a note to clients by supply chain analyst William Yang, snagged Sunday by Reuters:

Citi Research on Friday slashed its first-quarter production estimates for Apple Inc’s iPhones and nearly halved expectations on the costliest iPhone XS Max, joining other brokerages in lowering forecast amid reports of weak demand.

“The material cut in our forecasts is driven by our view that 2018 iPhone is entering a destocking phase, which does not bode well for the supply chain,” analyst William Yang wrote in a client note.

Citi said it expects the company to make 45 million iPhones for the quarter, down from 50 million it forecast earlier. The cut was mainly due to weak outlook for the iPhone XS Max, analyst William Yang said in a research note.

The brokerage lowered its forecast for the iPhone XS Max, which starts at $1,099, by 48 percent.

My take: Waiting to hear from Jim Suva, who covers Apple for Citi. Last I heard (three weeks ago) he still rated Apple a Buy with a $200 price target. Meanwhile, I’m hearing a lot of anecdotal reports of U.S. Apple Stores jam-packed over the holidays. Oh, the dissonance!