Smartwatch Sales Rising Heading Into The Holidays

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Fitbit Inc (NYSE: FIT) last week from Buy to Hold. The downgrade followed the latest data report from IDC, which showed that the wearable market expanded just 3 percent in the third quarter, representing a deceleration from 67 percent growth in the first quarter and 26 percent in the second quarter.

Investors who remain bullish on the wearable space should be reminded that Fitbit remains the leader in the space, per IDC's data. Investors should also be aware that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw shipments of its Apple Watch plunge 71 percent in the third quarter from the year-earlier quarter.

Tim Cook: Watch Sales Are Strong

Apple's CEO Tim Cook told Reuters in an e-mail that sales of the Watch set a record during the first week of the all-important holiday shopping season. Cook also added that the quarter is shaping up to be the best ever for its relatively new technology.

The executive further defended itself against IDC's data, noting that the watch's sell-through, a measure of how many units are actually sold to customers instead of stocked on a retailers' shelves, hit a new high.

"Sales growth is off the charts," Cook added in his e-mail to Reuters. "In fact, during the first week of holiday shopping, our sell-through of Apple Watch was greater than any week in the product's history. And as we expected, we're on track for the best quarter ever for Apple Watch."