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http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavi...?feed=rss_home

Is demand for the Amazon Kindle e-reader crumbling?

Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartlev this morning cut his 2012 forecast for Kindle e-reader sales to 12.3 million units to 24 million, asserting that his latest checks find that Q1 Kindle component orders have fallen more than 75% from initial expectations in early January. “Visibility is extremely low, and orders could increase later this year around new devices, but our supply checks suggest 2012 volumes could be 50% lower than initially expected,” he writes.

Bartlev is keeping his forecast for the Kindle Fire tablet for this year at 14.9 million units, but he adds that “uncertainty has increased.” He says checks find that Kindle Fire component orders for Q1 have fallen about 11% since February. “In addition, component orders for the new 7- and 9-inch devices have yet to materialize,” he writes. “We believe there has been a slight delay in the new devices and that sales could be even more weighted to late 2012.

He adds that “on the positive side, our checks indicate Amazon is pushing aggressively to lower Kindle Fire costs.”

The analyst cuts his 2012 EPS forecast to $1.21 a share from $1.45 (consensus is $1.29); for 2013 he goes to $2.36, from $2.56 (consensus is $2.66.)

Bartlev maintains his Sector Perform rating, and says he would be more likely to be a buyer at $165 level.

AMZN today is down 56 cents, or 0.3%, to $184.49.