Weeks ago when the iPhone 5c was released analysts were disappointed by the pricing of the new smartphone. The release resulted in a slew of negative reports from analysts and a large drop in the price of the stock. Since Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) released the sales figures associated with the device, they’ve been arguing against themselves.
New reports released on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have been highlighting the benefits of the iPhone 5c, contrasting earlier reports which pointed to lower demand on higher prices with the idea that higher prices might actually benefit the company’s gross margin.
Analysts now positive on iPhone 5c
Ben A. Reitzes, a Barclays analyst who released an iPhone 6 report two days after the iPhone 5c release, is very positive on the company heading into the end of 2013. In a new report Reitzes raises his price target on the company to $540, and highlights the benefits of the iPhone 5c.
Reitzes raises his target for earnings from the company to $42.93 for the current year from a previous target $40.80. Reitzes says that demand for the new iPhone is much higher than previously anticipated leading to the higher estimates for earnings and the higher price target.
William V. Power, of Baird Research, takes a similar tack. He highlights the higher gross margin that the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5c is likely to bring to results since it is more expensive than analysts previously thought. The Baird report puts a price target of $525 on the shares, up from a previous target of $450.
Analyst Apple issues
The two bullish reports on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are standard fare since the company released its iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c earlier in September. The only way Apple could succeed in the run up to that announcement was to undermine its gross margin and increase revenues, particularly in the Chinese market.
After the sales numbers came to light analysts as a whole seem agreed that keeping high gross margins was a good idea, and the iPhone 5c may not be the worst product the company has ever released after all.
There’s a doublethink dissonance in all of this, and that seems to have played out in the market itself. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost a huge amount of value in the wake of the iPhone 5c release, because demand was assumed to be lower. After the sales figures were released, margins became all important once again.
