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Shares of Apple continued their rise on Friday.
Sascha Steinbach / Getty Images for Apple
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shares rose on Friday for the fourth straight session, putting them at the pace of a close record and within reach of an intraday record. Wall Street analysts continue with ratchet expectations ahead of the company’s December quarter earnings report, which is expected after the close of trading next Wednesday.
The consensus forecast calls for $ 102.8 billion in revenue and profits of $ 1.40 per share. The Street is looking for big iPhone sales after the launch of the iPhone 12 line late last year, with the continued strength of Macs, iPads, wearables and services.
On Friday, Cowen analyst Krish Sankar repeated his score above Apple shares (ticker: AAPL), raising its target price to $ 153, from $ 133.
Sankar expects the company to exceed quarterly expectations for both the top and bottom line, driven mainly by strong iPhone demand. It is projecting $ 104.5 billion in revenue and earnings of $ 1.46 per share. The analyst estimates that Apple sold 77 million iPhones in the quarter, 97% more sequentially and 7% year-over-year. It sees iPhone revenue of $ 60.1 billion, up 7% from a year ago, and revenue from services is up 26% to $ 16 billion.
Apple remains Sankar’s best choice in the computer hardware industry, for multiple reasons.
One, he believes the iPhone 12 upgrade cycle should continue to increase earnings for the 2021 calendar year. of paid subscriptions remain on track, given new offers like Fitness +. And finally, the contributions of Mac, iPad, and wearables “will remain strong,” with long-term potential for new areas such as electric vehicles and augmented and virtual reality, he writes.
Apple rose 0.9% to $ 138.12 in recent business. The previous record closing of the shares – which arrived on Thursday – was $ 136.87. The maximum intraday of the shares was 139.67, also recorded on Thursday. During the week, shares rose about 8.7%.
Write to Eric J. Savitz to [email protected]