On day that Apple shares dipped below $500 for the first time in months, Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung said that the stock might be exhibiting signs of being range-bound.
On CNBC's "Fast Money," Yeung said that the oft-cited issue of demand wasn't clear.
"We can't be sure, but what I can say is: Demand isn't great. Maybe it's just good," he said. "What we can also say is, a year ago or two years ago, Apple had open field running with no competition, and now they have competition."
Samsung, one smartphone maker with strong sales of its Galaxy line, was likely to post record profits in the fourth quarter, it said. (Read More: Why Samsung Shares Are Headed for Another Bumper Year)
Yeung also said that reports citing Apple's reduced orders from suppliers were accurate.
"From our perspectives, those cuts are real," he said. "I think it's still unclear why they're cutting."
Regardless of the reason for the lower orders, Yeung said that profit margins would remain an issue.
"For a company that now faces competition but who has 75-plus percent of the global profit pool in handsets, you've got to figure that's going to be hard for them to sustain," he said.
Yeung's team at Citi downgraded Apple to "neutral" from "buy" on Dec. 17, lowing its price target to $575 per share from $675.
For the near future, Yeung said, Apple shares might be heading nowhere.
"Generally speaking, when a tech stock is coming under margin pressure, after that big pullback, it's a sideways stock for some time here, and we think that's probably the case for Apple for a while."
Trader disclosure: On Jan. 14, 2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Joe Terranova is long VRTS; Joe Terranova is long AAPL; Joe Terranova is long GS; Joe Terranova is long MS; Joe Terranova is long GLW; Joe Terranova is long DELL; Joe Terranova is long SWN; Joe Terranova is long XOM; Simon Baker is long AAPL; Simon Baker is long WFC; Simon Baker is long FB; Simon Baker is long AMZN; Simon Baker is long RIG; Stephanie Link is long AAPL; Stephanie Link is long GS; Stephanie Link is long WFC; Stephanie Link is long CSCO; Stephanie Link is long SBUX; Stephanie Link is long FDX; Josh Brown is long AAPL; Josh Brown is long BAC; Josh Brown is long JPM; Josh Brown is long WFC; Josh Brown is long GDX; Josh Brown is long GLD; Josh Brown is long XLU; Josh Brown is long TLT; Josh Brown is long XLF; Josh Brown is long TGT; Josh Brown is long WMT; Josh Brown is long JNJ;
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