It’s a new day and a new week, and isn’t this a surprise? There’s another iPhone 8 prediction. A well-known perma-bull says the iPhone 8 is what will drive AAPL stock past $200 per share, which would value the company at more than $1 trillion. Apple shares jumped after this iPhone 8 prediction was made.
iPhone 8 prediction based on Apple suppliers
In a note dated July 7, Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White released his final Apple Monitor results for June. The monitor is based on key Apple suppliers in Taiwan, and he said they reported their best performance for June ever. He also noted that the June results were much better than historical seasonality.
He explained that with 100% of the companies in his Apple Monitor reporting their results for June, sales rose 18% month over month, compared to the average 2% decline over the last 12 years. He added that the five-year average is a 7% month over month decline, while last year, Apple Monitor sales grew only 2%.
New iPhones drive strong sales results for suppliers
His iPhone 8 prediction is that the initial component ramp for this year’s new iPhones drove this significant outperformance among Apple’s Taiwan-based suppliers. He adds that the recently-launched Mac and iPad Pro models probably also contributed to the strong performance of the companies in his Apple Monitor.
After adding the June results with the April and May results, he found that his Apple Monitor saw a 4% quarter over quarter increase in sales, which is well under the average increase of 12% over the last 12 years. However, he reported that last year, his monitor recorded a 2% quarter over quarter decline in the second quarter.
He expects Apple to keep inventory levels for components low going into major design changes like what is believed to be coming this fall. The result is second quarter seasonality that is weaker than usual.
iPhone 8 prediction: AAPL stock to surge
White noted that the tech sector has seen much greater volatility than usual over the last month or so, which caused AAPL stock to fall by as much as 9%. From the all-time high set in May. Today, Apple stock jumped by as much as 1.11% to $145.78, although it’s still quite a bit below the record high of $156.65. White’s iPhone 8 prediction points to Apple stock approaching his target price of $202, which would mean a trillion-dollar valuation for the Cupertino, Calif.-based iPhone maker.
The analyst compared what’s happening right now to “the bottoming process in Apple during the summer of 2013.” It caused a strong rally between the new iPhones‘ release and the spring of 2015. He pegs the bottom of Apple stock in May 2016, and his iPhone 8 prediction points to Apple stock reaching $202 within the next 12 months.