Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continues to receive positive conviction from Wall Street analysts after reporting solid financial performance for its fiscal third quarter.
Stephen Turner, an analyst at Hilliard Lyons, maintained his Buy rating for shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and raised his price target for the stock to $545. According to Turner, shares of the iPhone and iPad maker remainattractive based on the research firm’s fundamental valuations.
During its fiscal third quarter, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s revenue increased by 1% year-over-year to $35.3 billion revenue, higher than the $35.1 billion consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts, and above the $35.24 billion estimate of Hilliard Lyons.
Apple iTunes and services revenue expanded 94%
The tech giant’s net income was $9.6 billion, a decline of 20% year-over year, but still better than the consensus estimate. Its EPS was $7.47, higher than the consensus estimate of $7.31 a share. However, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) missed the aggressive $7.85 EPS estimate of the research firm.
The gross margin of the iPhone and iPad maker for the quarter dropped to 36.9% due to geographic cost, component, and product mix. Its operating cash flow was 7.8 billion and its free cash flow was $5.9 billion. The company ended the quarter with $129.6 billion net cash and investments or ~$140 per share. During this period, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) returned approximately $18.8 billion to shareholders, and the number of its outstanding shares was reduced by 22 million quarter-over-quarter.
With regard to its products, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold 31.2 million units of iPhone, 14.6 million units of iPad, 3.75 million units of Mac computers. The revenue of the iTunes/Services surged by 94% year-over-year.
Apple 2013 ‘a year to forget’
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) issued a guidance for the next quarter and estimated that it will attain around $34 billion to $37 billion revenue.
Hilliard Lyons projected that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be able to generate $36.65 billion revenue and $7.89 earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2013. For the full fiscal 2013 and 2014, the research firm estimated that the company will be able to report $39.40 billion revenue and $45.65 billion revenue, respectively.
Meanwhile, Brian White, an analyst at Topeka Capital Markets, said Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s fiscal 2013 is a year to forget, but he encouraged investors to start focusing on the new product innovations of the company for the fiscal 2014. The company is expected to start launching its new product by September.
