UPDATE: Standpoint Research Downgrades Apple to Hold on Market Cap Concerns

In a report published Friday, Standpoint Research analyst Ronnie Moas downgraded Apple AAPL from Buy to Hold based on concerns over the company's market cap. In the report, Standpoint wrote, "=Back in September, the Apple share price hit $700. It looked as though they were going to knock out their competitors and maybe justify that share price and market capitalization. The problem is that they knocked a few competitors down … BBRY, NOK, HPQ, DELL, Samsung … but never knocked anyone out … big difference...My guess is that Apple eventually will come back towards the pack ($300 bln) as opposed to separating itself further from the pack. $700/share last year was probably as good as it will ever get for Apple. There was an over-reaction in April when shares dropped below $400 and I got what I was looking for … a 15%-20% bounce off that over-reaction low point." At the time of the downgrade, shares of Apple were trading at $461.98, a 1.16 percent rise since market open Friday.