Why Did This Analyst Downgrade Apple?

In the face of mounting competition, CSLA Asia-Pacific Markets’s Avi Silver downgraded Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares from Outperform to Buy, citing “weak iPhone trends” in the June quarter, Barron’s reports.

For what it’s worth, Silver brought his revenue estimates down from $42.87, or $10.35 per share, to $42.8 billion, or $10.15 on a share basis — quite a marginal decrease for a projection for the March quarter, and brought his June quarter estimates down from $17.52 billion and $8 per share from a prior $19.8 billion and $9.45 per share.

The iPhone might see the rumored 5S model by “mid-year,” he thinks, “without major hardware spec changes, and [the phone] could embed Authentec fingerprint sensor technology that may evolve into Apple’s digital wallet offering,” but the trend through June likely will be “sluggish,” Barron’s said. Silver also says that the Cupertino-based company may release an iPhone Mini, a more affordable alternative to the 5 or 5S aimed specifically at emerging markets such as China…