Apple stock may have taken a beating in the weeks since the iPhone 4 was released, dropping nearly eight percent as of Wednesday morning. Nonetheless, indications remain that demand for the devices is brisk. Consumers aren’t returning the phones much, despite word spreading about a reception issue that can plague the phone when held a certain way, and apparently supplies remain low at retail outlets.

Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal said iPhone 4 buyers were keeping new iPhones without returning them at the same rates they normally do, also citing limited supplies at stores. Multiple analysts told the WSJ they did not expect Apple to recall the devices despite this widely reported problem, because it “occurs with only some units and is easily remedied by inserting the phone into a protective case.”

Apparently I and everyone else who has seen this problem — including those who have run extensive tests to measure the resulting signal attenuation — happened to examine one of the models that exhibits the issue. Others haven’t noticed it at all.

Meanwhile Consumer Reports, which boosted the controversy by writing that it “can’t recommend” the iPhone 4 (while still rating it the best smartphone available), upped the ante Tuesday by demanding that Apple do something to remedy the situation:

In our reporting and a video yesterday, we made the point that the signal drop that iPhone 4 customers have observed when they hold their phones the “wrong” way is real—and we’ve called on Apple to do something about it. In an earlier statement, the company noted that attenuated performance is a “fact of life” for every wireless phone. Apple suggested [link] owners mitigate the problem by holding the phone differently or purchasing a case. But those solutions put the onus on consumers and skirt Apple’s obligation to offer a product that works consistently and reliably out of the box. We think it’s the company’s responsibility to provide the fix — at no extra cost to consumers.

If anything, one analyst said, Apple could end up giving a bumper case to each iPhone 4 customer, costing it an estimated $1 to $5 per customer and putting a one-percent ding in its annual operating profit. Despite the antenna issue, analysts’ outlook for iPhone sales remain strong and unchanged at 35 to 36 million units for the whole year.

These analysts may not be worried, but other people are, as indicated by this stock dip (which an ongoing rally later Wednesday morning has yet to erase). AAPL’s plunge followed a string of successes. In late May, Apple overtook Microsoft as the world’s largest tech company for the first time, in no small part due to its success with the iPhone and other iOS devices like the iPod Touch and iPad.