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Apple Falls Anew Amid iPhone 7 Worries, Chip Stocks Follow

Apple ( AAPL ) stock tumbled to its lowest level in nearly two years on Thursday, following a report that Asian component suppliers are seeing weak orders related to the upcoming iPhone 7. Japanese business publication Nikkei Asian Review reported Thursday that Taiwan-based tech suppliers expect to get significantly fewer orders from Apple in the second half of this year compared with the year-earlier period. They cited the “ongoing slump in demand for premium smartphones and a lack of groundbreaking features for the upcoming iPhone 7.” Nikkei Asian Review this week also reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) expects its iPhone chip shipments for the June-to-December period will be about 70% to 80% of the level reached in the second half of 2015. Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha said the market overreacted to the Nikkei report. The prediction that iPhone builds would be down 20% to 30% in the second half of the year vs. the same period in 2015 was expected and already should have been baked into the stock’s price. “While the news is clearly disappointing, it was already largely included in our iPhone unit estimates,” he said in a report Thursday. Elsewhere, Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group said its first-quarter net profit fell 9.2% from a year earlier, as it was hit by a slowdown in iPhone sales, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday . Foxconn is Apple’s main iPhone assembler. Apple shares were down more than 2.5%, near 90, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . TSM shares were down 1%, near 23. IBD’s Take: How healthy is Apple’s stock and how does it stand up vs. rivals? Find out at IBD Stock Checkup . Other Apple chip suppliers were down Thursday as well, including InvenSense ( INVN ), NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ), Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), Qorvo ( QRVO ) and Texas Instruments ( TXN ). Apple stock has risen in only four of the last 20 trading sessions. Since hitting its 2016 high of 112.39 on April 14, Apple stock has fallen about 20%. Most of the decline happened after the Cupertino, Calif.-based company reported March-quarter results and gave June-quarter guidance on April 26. For its fiscal Q2, Apple posted its first year-over-year sales decline since 2003 and its first-ever drop in iPhone unit sales. For the current Q3, Apple is targeting sales of $42 billion, down 15% from the same period last year. Demand for Apple’s latest handsets, the iPhone 6S series, has been relatively weak, and hopes for a return to unit sales growth have shifted to the iPhone 7, expected to be released in September. The iPhone 7 is predicted to feature a slimmer design, a speedier processor and a better camera. It also might be waterproof for the first time, according to tech news reports. But it is expected to look pretty much like the current models, with tweaks like the lack of an audio headset jack. RELATED: Apple Stock Gets Price-Target Cut On Longer iPhone Upgrade Cycle .

Apple Is No Longer The Biggest Stock: Why You Should Worry This Time

Loading the player… Apple ( AAPL ) has again lost its crown as the most valuable company, as it plunges to its lowest level in nearly two years. Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) is dropping in the stock market today as well, but it is now the biggest company. The switch comes shortly after Apple posted its first-ever decline in iPhone sales, and as analysts continued to voice concerns over a longer upgrade cycle. The last time Alphabet was able to overtake Apple was a little over two months ago, though it only lasted a few days. But as Apple’s stock becomes more and more technically damaged, it’ll be interesting to see if it can last this time. Apple shares are crumbling 2.6% in huge volume, dropping below the 90 price level intraday to a fresh 23-month low. The stock is now 32% below its all-time high, reached in April 2015. IBD’s Take: How healthy is Apple’s stock and how does it stand up vs. rivals? Find out at IBD Stock Checkup Alphabet is sliding 0.4% in slightly above-average volume. Shares were able to retake the 200-day line last week and are now looking for support near that level. The stock is 10% below its early-February high and 7% below a cup-with-handle buy point of 777.41 that it failed to break out of after issuing disappointing earnings results. Amazon Worth $3 Trillion? And don’t forget to keep an eye on the other big “A” tech stock: Amazon ( AMZN ). The e-commerce giant has a market cap of about $338 billion, compared with Apple’s $493 billion valuation and Alphabet’s nearly $500 billion market cap, but its stock is performing very well. Amazon hit another new all-time high in intraday trade Thursday, with the stock up fractionally at midday. Amazon is extended about 18% past a cup-with-handle buy point it initially cleared shortly before the company’s latest quarterly report. Venture capital firm Social Capital recently gave Amazon a $3 trillion, 10-year valuation. Analysts say Amazon is set to overtake Macy’s ( M ) as the No. 1 U.S. apparel retailer next year. It may also be poised to grab bigger positions in the consumables and food and beverage markets in the next few years. Meanwhile, Facebook ( FB ) has a $342 billion market cap. The social networking giant is very near its recent all-time high as it continues to trade within buy range from a cup-with-handle base that it broke out of on its earnings results. Facebook shares were essentially flat in early afternoon trade.

What Mixed Earnings Say About Casino ETF?

Casino stocks have been suffering the curse of choppy Macau business for quite a long time now. Though the other key region for casino business – Las Vegas – has been on a recovery mode, full-fledged improvement is yet to be seen. Notably, Macau – a Chinese territory – is one of the largest casino gaming destinations in the world. Credit crunch issues in mainland China, check on illegal money transfers especially in VIP gaming, and a broad-based slowdown in China led casino operations to doze off. Though this long-criticized zone recorded a 9.5% decline in gambling revenue in April, the fall was less than expected. This definitely sparks off hopes over positive developments in the region. Investors should note that April numbers revealed the 23rd successive monthly drop in revenues. Against this background, casino stocks reported earnings in the last few days. Investors might be interested in knowing how badly casino earnings were hurt due to the sagging Macau business or how smartly these companies navigated the troubles, and definitely their impact on the casino ETF. Q1 Earnings in Detail MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM ) posted first-quarter 2016 earnings of $0.16 per share on May 5. Earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.13, but were lower than the year-ago earnings of $0.26. Revenues were down 5.2% to $2.21 billion and fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.31 billion. The downside reflects a significant decline in revenues from MGM China. VIP gambling continues to be a drag in China. However, net revenue at wholly-owned domestic resorts was up 2.6%. MGM shares gained about 1.9% on May 5. In late April, Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS ) came up with first-quarter 2016 earnings per share of $0.45 that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.61. Adjusted EPS declined almost 32% year over year due to lower revenues and profits. Quarterly net revenue of $2.72 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.88 billion and declined 9.8% year over year due to weak performance in Macau. LVS stock was down about 14.8% (as of May 5, 2016) since it reported earnings on April 20. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN ) posted mixed first-quarter 2016 results. Adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share were 52.9% higher year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.83. Revenues of $997.7 million missed the consensus mark of $1.007 billion and slipped 8.7% year over year, owing to a 13.8% decline in Macau, partially made up by 0.7% rise in revenues in Las Vegas. WYNN resorts gained about 2% after hours of May 5, after reporting earnings. ETF Impact The impact of mixed earnings should be felt in the casino gaming ETF Market Vectors Gaming ETF (NYSEARCA: BJK ) as the trio has found a place in the top 10 holdings of the fund with a considerable share. Investors should note that the Zacks Industry Rank of the above-mentioned stocks is in the top 42%, at the time of writing. While WYNN has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), LVS and MGM has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each. But BJK has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy), though with a High risk outlook. For investors seeking to keep a watch on this ETF in the coming days, we have taken a closer look at the details of this fund: BJK in Focus The fund looks to track the Market Vectors Global Gaming Index and provides investors a direct exposure to the casino gaming market. The fund has so far attracted $17.8 million in assets with 44 holdings. The product is expensive as it charges 66 bps in fees per year. Both companies – Sands China ( OTCPK:SCHYY ) and Las Vegas Sands – have about 15% exposure in BJK. MGM Resorts International and MGM China ( OTCPK:MCHVY ) – together take about 7.6% of the fund. Wynn Resorts and Wynn Macau ( OTCPK:WYNMY ), together take about 4.2% of the fund. Original Post Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.