Expect Apple To Be Range Bound This Summer

Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL have lost around 10 percent since the start of 2016 and more than 27 percent over the past year. Despite the noticeable losses, Citi is calling for less volatility in the stock.

According to analysts at Citi, shares of Apple are expected to be range bound during the seasonally slow summer and ahead of the anticipated iPhone 7 launch.

The analysts continued that investors will begin looking beyond the near-term stock price weakness and the possibility over a 1 percent year-over-year decline in iPhone growth at 74 million by the end of December.

Related Link: 3 Reasons Citi Thinks Apple Is Under Pressure

The analysts added that over the long term, Apple can still gain market share in large markets and new markets including enterprise and services.

Finally, the analysts pointed out that Appleʼs stock is trading at 10.7x forward 12 month earnings and 7.7x excluding cash which is "attractive" and supports a Buy rating.

"While some investors may ask if Apple is the next cell phone company to peak and decline, we do not believe so as we watch the company's installed base growth which was a leading indicator for past examples of consumer electronic peak to fail turning points," the report concluded.