Widely followed investor Dan Niles revealed Thursday he dumped his Apple shares and started betting against the tech giant in a significant way. “Sold $AAPL & now our largest single stock short,” the founder and senior portfolio manager of the Satori Fund said in a post on X , formerly known as Twitter. The hedge fund manager bought Apple on Aug. 18 and started selling Wednesday, he said. Shares of Apple were down for a second day in a row, bringing losses this week to more than 6%. The stock is still up 36% this year. Niles pointed to several reasons for his move. Firstly, he noted the risk stemming from China’s potential ban. Bloomberg News reported China is planning to extend a ban on iPhone use to state-owned corporations. A day earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported the China was moving to prohibit iPhone usage in government agencies. AAPL YTD mountain Apple Secondly, Niles said Huawei’s resurgence could pose a threat to Apple. The Shenzhen-based telecoms firm recently announced the latest version of its mobile operating system , HarmonyOS 4, and an enhanced AI assistant, as the company ramps up efforts to re-establish strength for its smartphone business. Moreover, Niles thinks the restart of student loan payment could make consumers tighten their purse strings when it comes to buying the new iPhone this fall. Lastly, the investor expressed concerns about Apple’s elevated valuation — considering its revenue has fallen in the last few quarters. This “will force investors to question 29x CY23 PE w/ no major AI play vs S & P at 21x,” Niles said. Overall sales in the fiscal third quarter fell 1% year over year. Revenue in the company’s iPhone, Mac, and iPad lines were also down from a year earlier.
