A lukewarm review of the new iPhone 15 (great phone, but improvements only come incrementally) remains apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) This week’s stock is almost unchanged. But one top analyst believes the initial reception could be overshadowed by future events.
On Friday, in an enthusiastic endorsement of Apple stock, Wedbush’s Daniel Ives, a five-star analyst ranked in the top 2% of Street stock experts, began by saying, “China, Europe and the U.S. “Long lines are already being seen.” ” is cited as evidence of “retailer excitement about this new generation of smartphones from Cupertino.”
As Ives points out, approximately 250 million iPhone users around the world haven’t upgraded their phones in more than four years. Therefore, even though the improvements between iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 are only gradual, the improvements between iPhone 11 and iPhone 15 are a stronger basis for promoting sales.
What’s more, the more than 250 million Apple fans who have saved their pennies for four years in a row now appear to have enough savings to splurge. Ives points out that even though Apple has increased the price of its top-of-the-line model (iPhone 15 Pro Max this year) by $100 to $1,199, at least in New York City, the iPhone 15 Pro Max model is the most popular. What you want to buy. And the fact that there is some level of cell phone shortage in the supply chain gives these high-margin sales even more impetus.
Simply put, nothing makes consumers want to pay more for something than the fear of missing out, or FOMO.
So what do all these mean in cold, hard numbers? Ives expects pre-orders for the iPhone 15 to increase by 10% to 12% compared to pre-orders for the iPhone 14, which launched last year. ing. And with pre-orders “skewed” towards high-end phones, analysts predict Apple’s average selling price (ASP) could reach $925. This is a 12% increase over his ASP of the previous version of Apple’s iPhone.
And if unit sales growth is between 10% and 12%, and individual product prices rise by an additional 12%…analyst consensus forecasts suggest Apple’s sales growth will be just 6% in 2024. Suffice it to say, it’s possible. Certainly very conservative. In Ives’ opinion, Apple will slightly beat the consensus estimate of $383.3 billion in revenue this year, significantly beat the 2024 revenue estimate ($404.9 billion), and will likely generate $414 billion in revenue next year. It is said that there is a high possibility of achieving this.
So it’s no surprise that Ives rates Apple’s stock as “outperform” with a $240 price target, implying a 37% return potential. (Click here to see Ives’ track record)
Now we turn to the rest of the Street, where Apple stock has strong support among Mr. Ives’ colleagues. The consensus rating for AAPL is Moderate Buy, based on 21 Buys and 8 Holds. The average price target of $206.83 means the stock will trade at a premium of ~18% in the coming months. (look AAPL stock price prediction)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. Content is for informational purposes only. It is very important to perform your own analysis before making any investment.
