- Apple‘s price target was raised by Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who said "hurricane-like clouds" in China are slowly clearing for the company.
- Apple’s stock was up 1.2% and on track for a 10th straight day of gains.
- Watch Apple trade live.
Apple shares were trading up 1.2% near $202.50 a share Tuesday morning after receiving a price-target increase from one Wall Street analyst.
The early buying had Apple on track for its 10th straight day of gains, and on the verge of its longest winning streak since 2010, according to CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla. Shares have gained more than 8.5% during the streak and are fighting for their highest close in five months.
"While there is still ‘wood to chop’ ahead for Cook & Co, we are seeing more stable iPhone demand trends in the field after a turbulent few months with hurricane-like clouds slowly clearing in China for Apple," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients out Tuesday morning.
"We maintain our OUTPERFORM rating and are raising our price target from $215 to $225 to reflect more stable demand trends in the field and a valuation starting to get more ‘Street cred’ for the linchpin services segment."
On January 4, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a letter to investors in which he lowered Apple’s revenue forecast for the fiscal fourth quarter to $84 billion. Later that month, the tech giant announced revenue of $84.3 billion and gave second-quarter revenue guidance that fell short of Wall Street estimates.
But in February signs started to emerge that Apple’s China slowdown was abating.
"While March mix is still bad, the tone in the supply chain is starting to improve and price reductions in China may be starting to clear channel inventory," UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri wrote.
"Procurement estimates for XR are actually now up Q/Q in June – atypical for this late in a ‘new’ model cycle (good near-term for QRVO), but reflective of inventory burn."
And in his note out Tuesday, Ives said that while Apple "continues to face a ‘code red’ situation in China," cutting prices on the XR by up to 20% would put a "ring fence" on its core user base in the region.
Apple was up more than 38% this year, including Tuesday’s gain.
Markets Insider
See Also:
- 34 brilliant questions to ask at the end of every job interview
- 6 reasons this is the perfect thank-you email to send after a job interview
- Here’s how China could launch a 10-plus-year ‘super-cycle’ in commodities — one that survives the next global recession
Source: Business Insider – jgarber@businessinsider.com (Jonathan Garber)