Apple
shares are close to a record closing high. Surprisingly strong iPhone sales could be the key to it pushing through that barrier, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Apple
shares were down 0.5% in premarket trading on Monday at $194.80. The stock is hovering just below its all-time closing high of $196.45 on July 31.
Ives said that global checks suggest iPhone shipments could be ahead of the 220 million to 230 million units expected by Wall Street for Apple’s fiscal 2024 if the pace of phone upgrades continues into later quarters.
The first signs of a surprise could come as early as this quarter, with signs of strong demand in the U.S. and especially China despite the threat of local competitor Huawei, according to Ives.
“With roughly 240 million iPhones in the window of an upgrade opportunity globally now at play for iPhone 15 and Services re-accelerating into FY24 we view this as the golden opportunity to own Apple for the next year,” Ives wrote in a research note on Sunday.
Ives raised his target price on Apple to $250 from $240 and kept an Outperform rating on the stock.
The price target makes Ives the most bullish Apple analyst on Wall Street, according to a survey by FactSet, with the average target for the stock being $197.30.
However, Ives isn’t alone in turning more bullish on Apple recently as Morgan Stanley analysts raised their target price on the stock last week.
Write to Adam Clark at [email protected]
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