An analyst at BMO Capital Markets raised his price target and EPS estimates for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for the fiscal 2015 and 2016.
BMO Capital Markets analyst, Keith Bachman’s current price target of $123 for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The shares of the iPhone maker are trading $112 per share, down by more than 2% at the time of this writing around 2:12 in the afternoon in New York.
For the fiscal 2015, Bachman estimated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be able to achieve $7.97 in earnings per share, up from their previous estimate of $7.90 per share. Their EPS estimate is also higher than the $7.74 consensus EPS estimate for 2015.
The analyst estimated that the tech giant will be able to generate earnings of $8.63 per share for the fiscal 2016, up from their previous EPS estimate of $8.24 per share. Wall Street analysts have a consensus EPS estimate of $8.54.
Apple iPhone supply
In a note to investors, Bachman explained that he increased his price target and EPS estimates for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) after returning from Asia as he believed that” one-third to one-half of potential iPhone configurations are available for walk-in traffic “at the retail stores of the tech giant.
Bachman stated that more iPhone 6 Plus are currently available compared last month. The analysts believed that only third party stores have limited stocks and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is “hoarding available supply,” which could help its gross margins for the December quarter.
The analysts also believed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will likely end the December quarter with backlog or unfulfilled demand. Bachman noted that the tech giant ended December 2013 with 15.3 million units of iPhone in the channel.
“We think Apple will end the December 2014 quarter with fewer units in the channel. Therefore, we think iPhone channel fill will increase March 2015 quarter units by approximately two weeks, or 3-5 million units,” wrote Bachman.
UBS analyst bullish on Apple Watch
On the other hand, UBS analyst Steve Milunovich is bullish on Apple Watch. He estimated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be able to sell 24 million Apple Watch next year.
Milunovich based his estimate on a survey he conducted with smartphone owners in the United States, United Kingdom, China and Italy. The results indicated that one in 10 respondents was “very likely” to buy a smartwatch over the next 12 months. He said the same percentage of iPhone owners will likely to purchase an Apple Watch.
Apple leads momentum stocks
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is leading the top five momentum stocks as it is the only one with a continuing upward trend based on the observation of Richard Suttmeier of TheStreet. The shares of the tech giant gained 45% this year.
