The price target for the shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been raised to $120 per share by Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. The analyst previously had a $105 price target for the stock.
Apple’s platform theme is expanding
In a note to investors, Munster emphasized that the Cupertino-based tech giant’s “platform theme is expanding.”
According to Munster, the increase was based on the upcoming products and services of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) including the iWatch, HomeKit and HealthKit apps and mobile payment system.
Munster gave a 50% probability for an iWatch announcement
He forecasted that the iWatch would open new opportunities for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to become more entrenched to the daily lives of its users. However, he is not fully convinced that the company would announce the iWatch during its upcoming product launch event citing the reason that it would dilute the iPhone announcement.
Munster gave a 50% probability that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will announce the iWatch on September 9. According to him, if the iWatch will not be included in the upcoming announcement, the tech giant will probably reveal the device on October or November.
Potential stock action
The analysts believed that it would be difficult to compare the first-weekend sales of the next generation iPhones with the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to unveil two iPhones with a 4.7-inch screen and 5.5-inch screen on September 9. The tech giant sold 9 million units during the launch weekend of the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S.
Munster anticipated a potential “noise in the opening weekend” regarding the sales of the Apple’s next generation iPhones. He advised investors to ignore it given the difficulty of comparing the new iPhones with its predecessors.
Commenting on the stock price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Munster said, “While the opening weekend may prove to be a speed bump to shares, we expect additional product launches and the platform theme to move shares higher through year-end.”
Munster believed that there is a 70% chance that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will announce its mobile payment system next week. According to him, an NFC chip with a payments solution will be integrated in the new iPhones. “We do not believe Apple will introduce features to its devices just to introduce features, said Munster.”
Apple earnings estimate
Munster estimated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be able to deliver earnings of $6.32 per share for the fiscal 2015 on $191 billion in revenue compared with the consensus estimate of $7.05 in earnings per share on $197 billion in revenue.
