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Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah repeated a Buy rating and boosted his target price on Apple stock to $155 from $131.
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Apple
stock received a thumbs up Friday from Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah, who repeated his Buy rating on the tech giant and boosted his target price to $155 from $131. The call comes ahead of the company’s upcoming December quarter earnings report, due after the close on Jan. 27.
Baruah writes in a research note that he expects a “really big year” for Apple (ticker: AAPL), and the signs should be clear with the upcoming earnings report. He thinks there could be material upside to Street numbers for both the near term and throughout calendar 2021, driven by strength in both iPhones and Macs. Baruah also thinks the company could see upside from healthy growth in iPad, AirPod, Watch, and Services.
The analyst notes that his outlook for iPhone shipments is materially above the Street—he sees 80 million units for the December quarter, 57 million for the March quarter, and 50 million for the June quarter; consensus estimates are 76 million, 50 million, and 42 million, respectively. Likewise, Baruah’s revenue forecast for iPhones is above Street consensus.
Baruah also says that his outlook is “materially more bullish” than the Street for Mac sales, asserting that there should be “much longer and stronger demand” beyond the tailwind from the work from home trend. He sees Mac sales of 7.3 million units in the December quarter, above consensus at 6 million units.
“The Mac remains supply-constrained, and improved product availability is not anticipated until well into calendar 2021, while current share gains with consumers and in enterprise, aided by new Apple silicon Macs, can sustain some of the current strength even with a Covid vaccine on the horizon,” he writes.
Despite the upbeat note, Apple stock is down 0.5%, to $128.29.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com
