Apple slips as Wedbush checks show 'major' iPhone shortages, as much as 30% below normal
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 1.6% in a holiday-shortened session on Friday as investment firm Wedbush Securities conducted store checks on Black Friday that showed "major" iPhone shortages across the board as a result of Chinas's COVID-19 disruptions.
Analyst Dan Ives, who has an outperform rating and a $200 price target on Apple (AAPL), noted that iPhone 14 Pro shortages look to have gotten "much worse" over the last week, citing low inventories across the board.
"We believe many Apple Stores now have iPhone 14 Pro shortages based on model/color/storage of up to 25%-30% below normal heading into a typical December, which is not a good sign heading into holiday season for Cupertino," Ives wrote in a note to clients.
He added that wait times for a new iPhone 14 Pro are now up to 40 days on Apple's website and is only likely to grow over the coming days going into Christmas.
The analyst called China's zero COVID policy "an absolute body blow" to the tech giant's supply chain, while positing that the recent protests at Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant were a "black eye" for both Apple and Foxconn. 
"The reality is that Apple is extremely limited in their options for holiday season and are at the mercy of China's zero Covid policy which remains a very frustrating situation for Apple as well as the Street," Ives added.
Earlier this month, Apple (AAPL) warned that COVID-19 restrictions in the world's most populated country would result in lower iPhone 14 shipments than previously expected.
Following the Apple (AAPL) statement, several investment firms, including Morgan Stanley and UBS, tweaked estimates on the tech giant, but Morgan Stanley said investors had an emerging opportunity to "buy the dip."