Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has received a couple of key price target increases this week, one from Morgan Stanley analysts because they think Wall Street is underestimating demand for the Apple Watch. The other increase comes from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who cited continuing strong demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
AAPL Price target increased
In his latest report, Munster said he increased his price target for Apple from $120 to $135 per share. He increased his target after collecting data from the 80 Apple Stores he surveyed.
Their survey covered availability of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the stores. They found that 58% of the various iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models were available in Apple stores. In the middle of last month, only 6% of them were available.
Gaps in iPhone 6 supply and demand
Although this is certainly an improvement, Munster points out that it still shows a gap between supply and demand. He estimates that Apple will catch supply of the new iPhones up to demand by the end of next month. However, he still thinks there will be some constraints on supply heading into March because he believes many smartphone buyers will simply wait to buy one.
The Piper Jaffray team also noted some improvements in online availability for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Most of those improvements in ship times were internationally, while shipping times in the U.S. were the same at between seven and ten business days for the iPhone 6 and three to four weeks for the iPhone 6 Plus.
How the Apple Watch will affect shares
This week analysts have also been looking at how much revenue Apple could rake in from the Apple Watch, which is expected to launch in the spring. Analysts at both Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets bumped up their price targets based on their expectations for Apple Watch sales.
Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty thinks Apple will sell 30 million smartwatches next year, while RBC analst Amit Daryanani thinks Apple will see $10 billion in revenue during the first year it is available.
