Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were in retreat again in pre-market trading today, extending its falls since the tech giant unveiled its latest iPhone last week, to almost 5%, and on track for their worst post-announcement performance since 2013.
The company’s shares were trading at US$152.37, down 0.7% on last night’s closing price, having fallen by 4.6% since unveiling the iPhone 8 and iPhone X last week, together with the new Apple Watch and Apple TV products.
READ: Apple shares lower amid some criticism of Apple Watch 3
The share price decline breaks a pattern established in seven of Apple’s last ten launches.
Poor reviews of the iPhone 8 - which was launched 10 years after Apple released the first version of the mould-breaking phone - have weighed on the group’s shares as investors fretted that pre-orders for the device were well below previous launches.
The new smartphones went on sale across Asia and in the UK today but the crowds outside shops were not seen as big as at past launches, according to news reports, possibly because the flagship – and most expensive - iPhone X won’t go on sale until November.
However, there was some good news for investors today, as US broker Piper Jaffray hiked its target for Apple shares to US$196 from US$190.