By Carly Forster
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has taken a little tumble in share prices lately and no one is quite sure why. However, analysts have remained optimistic on the tech giant and are continuing to issue bullish ratings and raise their price targets.
The latest price target increase for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) came from BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman who maintained an Outperform rating on the stock, raising his price target from $113 to $123 on December 8th. The price target increase came after a trip Bachman made to Asia where he saw roughly one-half of potential iPhone configurations available at Apple retail stores, and more of the iPhone 6 Plus’s in stock now than they were last month.
In addition, Bachman maintains that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is limiting supply of its products to its partners which is ultimately helping Apple’s December gross margins. The analyst also increased his fiscal 2015 EPS estimate from $7.90 to $7.97 and raised his fiscal 2016 EPS estimate from $8.24 to $8.63.
Bachman currently has a 72% success rate recommending stocks and a +27.0% average return per recommendation. He has rated Apple a total of 67 times, earning a 75% success rate recommending the stock.
Citigroup analyst Jim Suva also gave Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) a Buy rating and increased his price target from $120 to $135 on December 8th. Suva pointed out the higher demand for the 64GB and 128GB iPhone 6 models. In addition, he cited that longer lead-times and stock outs will result in higher demand that will last longer than the December quarter.
Suva currently has a 53% success rate recommending stocks with a +6.7% average return per recommendation. He has recommended Apple 6 times with an 83% success rate.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White also maintained a Buy rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on December 8th but kept his price target at $143. He noted, “With Apple shares trading at 12.3x our CY:15 EPS estimate, we continue to believe the stock has healthy upside over the next year as reflected in our 12-month price target of $143.”
White currently has a 69% success rate recommending stocks with a +18.8% average return per recommendation. He has rated Apple 93 times, earning an 80% success rate recommending the stock.
Will the rise in price targets give Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) some momentum, or has the stock leveled out?
On average, the top analyst consensus for Apple is Moderate Buy.
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Carly Forster writes about stock market news. She can be reached at [email protected]
