Target?

Apple display at Target

Stock market averages rose today, but the world's most valuable company was down 0.82%. Apple Stock Hit With Second Downgrade In A Week: [bold added]

Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell noted signs that iPhone demand is starting to soften as well as "limited visibility into the potential for future iPhone cycles"...On Friday, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities predicted that the iPhone X will reach "end of life" in the summer.

Analysts have been wrong about Apple before but probably not here. Last Sunday the iPhone X was displayed prominently at the San Carlos Best Buy, which had plenty of supply.

That night I chanced upon a similar display at Target. Target? Not exactly where the elites shop, but maybe Apple is willing to sacrifice prestige because a) Apple has become desperate to sell excess inventory, or b) it wants to get as many iPhone X's into as many hands as possible for reasons still unclear. In either case, the price of the X could drop in a few months, much sooner than expected.