Apple shares slip toward $500 on iPhone 5 demand worries

Apple's stock today dallied with the $500 mark, and not in a good way.

Shares of the iPad and Mac maker closed the day at $501.75, down more than 3 percent, after spending much of the day floating in the $503 range. In the waning moments of the trading day, Apple shares had trended downward as low as $500.07 before rallying in the final five minutes.

As trading on the Nasdaq got under way this morning, Apple did very briefly hit $498.51 a few minutes after the opening. The share price had been slipping notably in premarket trading.

Apple's investors are unloading shares over news that the company has cut iPhone 5 component orders in half due to weaker-than-expected demand for its new smartphone. That came just weeks after UBS analyst Steven Milunovich cut his iPhone sales estimates by 5 million units in three 2013 quarters, saying that Apple would face increasing trouble selling both its smartphones and tablets.

Still, Milunovich isn't so worried about Apple's shares. He wrote in his research note that he expects Apple's shares to hit $700 over the next 12 months.

Over the last several months, Apple's shares have been steadily coming down. Apple's 52-week high is $705.07. At a closing price on Friday of $520.30, Apple is closer to its 52-week low of $418.66 than its high. In the last three months alone, Apple's stock has slid 17 percent.

Last update at 1:13 p.m. PT: This story was updated several times during the day to reflect intraday shifts in Apple's share price, including the closing price.