TV Price Reductions 'Immaterial' To Apple, Wells Fargo Says

In a report published Tuesday, Wells Fargo analysts maintained a Market Perform rating

. In the report, Drexel Hamilton noted, "We believe the positives of the current 6 cycle and perception as a relatively defensive stock to be offset by gross margin pressures and secular issues as it relates to a limited market cap opportunity in the existing product segments, and a potential balance of power shift back to wireless operators from handset vendors." While Apple TV's price had been slashed from $99 to $69, this "will likely drive some demand elasticity but will likely be immaterial to overall numbers, the analysts wrote, while adding that the exclusive launch with HBO highlights Apple's "ability to work with others to enhance the ecosystem." "Apple has tripled the number of locations accepting Apple Pay to roughly 700k; it is accepted by 40k coke vending machines and expected to increase to 100k; over 2,500 banks support Apple Pay vs. 6 banks when started," the report mentioned. "For the first time Apple highlighted its ResearchKit, a software framework specifically made for medical research, which is expected to release next month. It is an open source platform to help advance applications for medical science and the first five applications (Parkinson's disease, Asthma, Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Breast Cancer) are available today," the analysts commented.