Investment bank Wedbush Securities Inc said Monday that it was maintaining its “outperform” rating on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), saying a Chinese court’s ruling barring iPhone sales in a patent infringement dispute affects only older models.
The Los Angeles-based investment bank said in a research note that the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court’s ban covers two patents out of the dozens of cases that San Diego-based chipmaker Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) has filed over the years alleging patent infringement.
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One patent covers photo editing while the other is related to use of touch screens.
“While the headlines are concerning regarding this latest China court ruling, we believe the models involved are related to 10%-15% of sales potentially impacted in the region related to older versions,” Wedbush said in its research note. “Today’s news is more noise than a fundamental impact.”
Shares of Apple declined 1.9% to $165.24 in Monday’s Nasdaq trading. Qualcomm climbed 3.5% to $57.98.
Wedbush's price target for Apple is $275, according to the research note.
Apple has fallen 15% in the past month on concern over demand for its iPhone X family.
Contact Dennis Fitzgerald at dennis@proactiveinvestors.com