Analysts stay bullish on Apple with hopes of an iPhone upgrade boom
Despite a somewhat mixed quarterly report, analysts on Wall Street are sticking by Apple . The iPhone maker surpassed estimates on the top and bottom line in its most recent quarter, while net sales inched up to 6% year over year. CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that sales of the latest iPhone are so far “stronger than 14 in the year-ago quarter, and 16 was stronger than 15.” The iPhone accounts for nearly half of the company’s overall sales. A sticking point for investors, however, is a forecast “low to mid single-digit” sales forecast for the December quarter, which is below what Wall Street had hoped for. Apple stock pulled back about 1% on the . Here are the takeaways from analysts at some of the bigger firms on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs reiterates buy rating and $286 price target Analyst Michael Ng’s forecast implies about 27% upside from Thursday’s close. “We believe that the market’s focus on slower product revenue growth masks the strength of the Apple ecosystem and associated revenue durability & visibility,” Ng said. “Apple’s installed base growth, secular growth in services, and new product innovation should more than offset cyclical headwinds to product revenue, such as a reduced iPhone unit demand due to a lengthening replacement cycle and reduced consumer demand for the PC & tablet category.” Morgan Stanley is unchanged on its outlook, sticks by top pick label Analyst Erik Woodring maintained his overweight rating on Apple stock alongside a $273 per share price target, which points to about 21% upside ahead. “Apple is on the cusp of its largest device upgrade cycle ever, as the launch – and limited backward compatibility – of Apple Intelligence, improves upgrade cycles/new user acquisition and accelerates replacement cycles, resulting in a record-breaking FY25/FY26 cycle that is underappreciated by the market today,” Woodring said. UBS stays neutral on Apple stock over ‘muted’ iPhone demand outlook The firm’s $236 per share price target calls for about 4% upside. “While the demand curve for iPhones could push to the right into the March or June qtr as a handful of checks suggest iPhone build rates were pushed into CY25, our checks do not suggest that a demand uptick is likely,” analyst David Vogt said. “Rather, as we had feared, the limited on-device AI features are not resonating with consumers.” Bank of America remains unchanged with $256 per share target price Analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a buy rating on Apple. His $256 per share forecast equates to about 13% upside. “In our opinion, the staggered launch of Apple Intelligence creates a product refresh cycle different from the past, where new features are incrementally available to the installed base over time,” Mohan said. “With iPhones likely flat to modestly up into Dec, we expect iPhone growth to improve through F25 and beyond.”
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