Apple Inc. AAPL shares received another price target boost after back-to-back revisions earlier this week, this time from KeyBanc Capital Markets.
The Apple Analyst: KeyBanc’s Brandon Nispel reiterated an Overweight rating on Apple shares and increased the price target from $177 to $185.
The analyst continues to recommend owning Apple shares.
The Apple Thesis: KeyBanc First Look Data showed that spending rose 29% month-over-month, exceeding the three-year average of 16%, Nispel said. The metric rebounded rapidly following soft results from April through June, he added.
July, seasonally the “strongest growth month” in Apple’s fiscal year fourth quarter, got off to a strong start, Nispel explained. The analyst expects spending to moderate in August and September.
“Our Key First Look Data suggests AAPL is tracking above historical averages with upside to consensus,” Nispel said.
The data supports KeyBanc’s above-consensus hardware revenue estimates. Nispel raised his fourth-quarter revenue growth estimate for Apple to 1%, driven by an estimated 2.2% iPhone revenue growth.
See Also: Has Rising Inflation Hurt iPhone Sales?
“We continue to take comfort in growth in the active installed base of devices, which hit an all-time high in F3Q22, and we believe comments around “strong double-digit” growth in switchers to iPhone as encouraging,” the analyst said.
In a separate note, Nispel said iPhone 13 demand declined only modestly month-over-month, in line with historical seasonality. This is in part due to some customers waiting for the iPhone 14 launch, he added.
Despite being at the tail end of the iPhone 13 cycle, iPhone demand remained resilient, thanks to continued promotions and upgrades, the analyst said. The impact of inflation, meanwhile, continued to be minimal.
Apple Price Action: In premarket trading on Friday, Apple shares were down 0.95% at $172.50, according to Benzinga Pro data.
