Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced that it will hold its first quarter 2014 earnings conference call on Monday, January 27th. CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer will address the conference and take questions from investors.
Apple might discuss 2014 roadmap
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has not yet revealed any future plans of the company, but Cook has indicated that the company will discuss a few details of the plans during these calls. It is expected that more information about the iPhone and iPad will be revealed during the conference call.
After the conference call, Apple will conduct 2014 Annual Meeting of shareholders in its headquarters based in Cuppertino, California where the discussion on 11 proposals related to compensation and director re-election will take place.
Apple gets a rare downgrade
In the previous week, shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) tumbled 1.12% after being downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform by Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um. The stock is expected to trade in the range of $536 and $581. The primary reason for downgrading the stock was gross margin concerns. However, even after the downgrade analysts expects Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to post better gross margin and receive major backing from strong iPad and iPhone sales. According to the experts, Apple is poised to grow significantly after getting support from the iPhone 6, iWatch and the success of iBeacon. Also, the buyback program and dividends would benefit the company a great deal.
Analyst Um notes that the gross margin of the company declines after the company unveils a new iPhone version like the iPhone 5. However, the gross margin looks upbeat with the launch of iPhone upgraded versions like the iPhone 5S.
Other analysts upbeat
Even though Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) received a downgrade from Wells Fargo, 37 other analysts have assigned Buy ratings to the stock, and 2 analysts have a Strong Buy rating while 13 analysts are Neutral on Apple shares.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has recently struck a deal with China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) (HKG:0941), which is expected to drive the growth ahead in 2014. Through the deal, both companies would be able to expand their customer base and attract more customers, which in turn would help them to increase their market share. Apple iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S will be available in the China Mobile store from January 17, according to the official statement of the company.
