Neil Hughes
Cowen and Company upgraded its outlook on AAPL stock to "outperform" on Wednesday with a $135 price target, telling investors it believes Apple will return to growth with this fall's "iPhone 7" and beyond.
Analyst Timothy Arcuri and his team have been on the sidelines with Apple since mid-2015. But this week, they became buyers once again, citing the anticipated September debut of a next-generation iPhone.
Even if the "iPhone 7" is only "evolutionary," Arcuri believes Apple could benefit from iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus buyers who may be ready to upgrade their two-year-old phones.
Arcuri was also encouraged by this week's rumor that Apple is working on a new iPhone design with a 5.8-inch AMOLED display that could arrive as soon as 2017. To him, adopting OLED in 2017 could solve "growth concerns" for Apple, and also allow the company to create iPhones with new form factors, such as edge-to-edge displays.
"Flex OLED gives AAPL a key new degree of freedom on product design, while '17 adoption provides a 'bridge' to a new cycle of innovation that should accelerate in '18 and beyond," Arcuri wrote.
Finally, he also noted that shares of AAPL still trade at about a 25 percent discount when compared to large-cap technology peers, and a 30 percent discount when contrasted with the S&P 500. The current valuation, to him, provides a "solid backstop" for the company, which he believes should give investors the confidence to buy in.
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11 Comments
That concept gives hideous new meaning.
He envisions based on rumours. Interesting.
Looking forward to the iPhone version that has the integrated TouchID and gives me a 4.7" screen on a device the size of an iPhone SE. If we get rid of all the bezel, I believe it fits.
I just don't know how they replace the metal ring around the touch ID to wake the phone. Perhaps they will use the 3D Touch to support that aspect. Then I'd get a phone that fits in my pocket and has the screen size I'd prefer and I can use it one-handed. Perfect iPhone 7 design IMHO.
Put the TouchID pad on the back where the Apple logo is. I like the full screen concept except for this problem