Will Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock ever hit $1,000? Analysts have been practically foaming at the mouth with the thought of this since the stock hit its high of $705 a share in September 2012. The company’s shares lost steam after that point and have yet to steadily approach that high again, but recently talk of Apple stock hitting $1,000 is rearing its ugly head again.
When will Apple hit $1,000?
While some speculate this could happen by the end of the year, analyst Michael A. Robinson of Money Morning said he sees a two-year time frame for Apple stock hitting $1,000.
“Apple is fantastic at upselling and cross selling, so five years ago, they had only 1% of big tech spending in the world; today it’s 8%,” Robinson told Fox Business. “That’s an eight-fold increase, so they’re going to use the iPhone as sort of a beachhead in China. Then they’re going to sell iPads, Mac Books, Mac Pros, iTunes, Apple TV—they’re going to make a lot of money in China.”
Upside seen for Apple from China
Robinson isn’t the only one seeing upside for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in China because of the deal with China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE:CHL) (HKG:941). It was recently reported that Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd (TPE:2354) (OTCMKTS:FXCOF) is shipping 1.4 million iPhone 5S handsets to China. Preorders alone for the iPhone on China Mobile’s network, which started on Dec. 25, surpassed 1 million iPhones.
BMO Capital Markets analysts believe that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will report sales of 55 million iPhones during the December quarter, receiving a small boost from the China Mobile deal. However, they note that most of the benefit from that deal will likely come in the March quarter. And of course Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White remains just as bullish on Apple as ever, noting that the relationship between the company and the world’s largest mobile carrier has only just begun.
U.S. markets are closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday today, but Apple stock declined more than 2% during the regular trading day on Friday.
