Apple (AAPL) shares are rising Monday after analysts at J.P. Morgan issued a pre-earnings note saying investors are underestimating iPhone shipments.
The firm has higher expectations than the field for earnings, $2.13 a share vs $2.10, as well as for revenue, $53.5 billion vs. $53.3 billion.
“We see upside on several aspects of the business as well as financials that remain underappreciated by investors, namely the transformation of the company to services, growth in the installed base, technology leadership, and optionality around capital deployment,” analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote.
Taken together, these factors “lead us to expect double-digit earnings growth and a modest rerating for the shares.”
The firm maintained its $239 price target, which represents a potential 15% upside from the stock’s previous closing price. Apple shares on Monday morning were rising 0.6% to $208.94.
J.P. Morgan’s report dovetails with a bullish note from analysts at TF Securities. That firm says the expectation is for all three models of Apple’s 2020 iPhones will be 5G-compatible as the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant looks to compete with Android (GOOGL) (GOOGL) devices.
And UBS analysts raised their price target on the shares to $235 from $225.
Apple is due to report fiscal-third-quarter results on Tuesday after the market close. Apple shares are up 1.2% to $210.24 Monday.
Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.
Save 76% with our Summer Break Sale. Subscribe to our premium site Real Money and become a smarter investor! Click here today to sign up!
About the author
