Shares of Apple Inc. more than 16% from their January highs, but one analyst argues that investors should take advantage of the downturn to seize “gold buying opportunity.”
Wedbush’s Daniel Ives Apple AAPL,
on his company’s “best ideas” list Wednesday, writing that there is room for the company to surprise Wall Street with the results of its iPhone this year.
Apple stock went out 0.2% lower in trading on Wednesday morning. It has picked up 69.4% over the last 12 months, and the Dow Jones industrial average DJIA,
forward 28.6%.
Ives said concerns about cuts to this year’s iPhone forecast have put pressure on the stock recently, but he sees an upside opportunity. While the FactSet consortium now calls for 224 million iPhone units to be sold this fiscal year, Ives argues that the company could sell more than 240 million due to strong demand in Asia and a large base of iPhones across the globe that are ripe for upgrade.
See also: Apple eclipses Samsung as leading smartphone vendor for first time in four years, says Gartner
He wrote that average retail prices should benefit as Apple seems to be succeeding in selling more expensive iPhone models such as the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max while the iPhone 12 Mini “is being reduced largely around global production / demand. ”
Nikkei Asia announced Wednesday that Apple was making dramatic cuts to its previous iPhone 12 Mini production plans from December while making “relatively light” cuts to other iPhone models, partly because some components and components that were once meant for the Mini have been moved to more. expensive models.
The new production targets are still slightly above Apple’s loads from the same period a year ago, the report said, citing some anonymous sources who said Apple’s cuts came after the company became particularly aggressive with its targets months ago to make sure it would have had enough parts at a time when some were scarce.
Apple did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment.
Ives remains optimistic about Apple’s plans for the iPhone, arguing that the “supercycle party” could continue with the iPhone 13 expected this fall due to optimistic supply chain signals. He is “more confident that the iPhone 13 will have a 1 terabyte storage option that is double that of today’s highest Pro storage capacity,” suggesting that Apple could have more price options.
It has a better rating and a $ 175 price target on the stock.
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Analysts at IDC predict on Wednesday that smartphone shipments could rise 5.5% in 2021, spurred by more 5G-enabled devices and “pent-up demand” for new phones. For 2020, IDC had calculated that smartphone products decreased 5.9% from a year earlier.