The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has been suffering lately amid a flurry of broker downgrades and recommendations.
The company's shares have tumbled just over 20% over the last fortnight despite the company's silence.
At the time of writing, the Appen share price is $9.70, 1.12% lower than its previous close.
Let's take a look at what might be weighing on the artificial intelligence (AI) data provider lately.
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Why is the Appen share price tumbling?
The Appen share price might be being pushed around as brokers seemingly can't agree on how to value the company's stock.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) downgraded the company's stock last week, noting it thinks the company's services are being sidestepped by its target market.
As The Motley Fool Australia reported, Macquarie's analysts spoke with industry participants about the company and found there's a trend of large tech companies sourcing their own AI data. Thus, the broker believes demand for the company's products will probably wane in the future, causing its revenue stream to slow.
It slapped a $9.50 target on the Appen share price, significantly less than fellow broker Citi placed on it.
In fact, Citi believes the company should be valued 80% more than Macquarie proclaimed.
As my Foolish colleague James reported, Citi thinks the pandemic put pressure on Appen, but its future is looking bright. It thinks the company's shares should be worth a whopping $17.10 apiece – 76% more that they're currently trading at.
So far, it seems Macquarie's assertation is winning out. However, Appen's slip isn't unique.
The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has also fallen over the last fortnight, dropping 8%.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Index (ASX: XIJ) has also slid around 8% in the same timeframe.
Right now, the Appen share price is 62% lower than it was at the start of 2021.
