UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Cuts PT to $725 on Apple; Forward Estimates De-Risked

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated Apple

at Buy but reduced its price target from $825.00 to $725.00. Stifel Nicolaus noted, "While we believe it would be easy to make a Dec. qtr upside call into earnings (1/23; AMC), the various supply-chain inputs/noise makes for a tough near-term call. While we expect solid F1Q13 results, we reduce our target price to $725 (was $825) to reflect lower forward expectations and our expectation of ongoing investor angst over the coming months as we continue to evaluate increasingly choppy supply-chain data points, what looks to be accelerating competitive momentum at Samsung an others (Blackberry 10, Google, Win8, etc.), continued proliferation of low-cost Android devices, increased questions over a needed meaningful iOS refresh in the face of a changing cloud-enabled digital consumption world, and China Mobile possibilities." Apple closed at $485.92 on Tuesday.