As a sell-off in technology shares, focused in mega-cap names including Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Facebook (FB), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN), continues from Friday into Monday, Mizuho analyst Abhey Lamba downgraded Apple citing fully priced in "enthusiasm" for the company's iPhone launch while Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson raised his price target on Amazon saying the company is well-positioned for the next five-plus years.

BACKGROUND: Shares of several mega-cap technology companies declined on Friday, driving the Nasdaq down nearly 2.5%, and leaving it with a weekly loss, while the Dow managed a small gain and the S&P was fractionally lower on a weekly basis. Apple fell nearly 4%, or $6.01, to $148.98 by close on Friday while Amazon was down $31.96, or 3%, to $978.31. The sell-off continued globally on Monday.

"LIMITED UPSIDE": On Sunday, Mizuho analyst Abhey Lamba downgraded Apple to Neutral from Buy and lowered his price target for the shares to $150 from $160 saying "enthusiasm" around the upcoming iPhone launch is fully priced in after the stock's year-to-date outperformance. Lamba also said he is cautious on FY18 consensus numbers due to "potential pull-in of demand," growth driven by replacements versus net new customers, initial supply constraints, possible increased average selling prices for stock-keeping units and gross margins risks. The analyst sees limited upside to consensus estimates and notes Apple shares are trading near the upper-end of their recent valuation range. Lamba's views echo those of Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves, who downgraded Apple to Sector Weight from Overweight on June 4, saying upside from the launch of iPhone 8 is already reflected in the shares. An "extremely strong iPhone 8 cycle" is being priced into the stock while little weight is being given to gross margin risks, supply issues, or the likelihood for declines beyond the iPhone 8, Hargreaves said.

"NO DECELERATION": On Monday, Piper Jaffray analyst Olson said he continues to believe that Amazon.com is the best positioned large cap internet platform for the next five-plus years. He raised his price target for the shares to $1,200 from $1,050 and reiterates an Overweight rating on the name. An analysis of Google search trends indicates Amazon retail unit growth will likely see little to no deceleration in Q2 relative to the 24% growth experienced in Q1, Olson tells investors in a research note. He believes Amazon retail is tracking for an in-line quarter. He added growth in the unit is driven by share gains from Prime Now, continued tailwinds from Prime adoption, international expansion, and hardware tailwinds.

PRICE ACTION: In late morning trading, Apple fell 2.2%, or $3.34, to $145.64, while Amazon dropped 0.7%, or $6.94, to $971.37 per share.