Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski raised her price target for Apple (AAPL) to $150 from $133 citing increasing confidence in the outlook for the iPhone 8 cycle in the second half of the year.
Apple closed Friday down 30c to $132.12. Industry data points last week, including the earnings report from optical supplier Lumentum (LITE), suggest that the inclusion of 3D sensing functionality is increasingly likely in the next iPhone, Jankowski tells investors in a research note. This could enable a "robust" augmented reality feature set, which would be a "significant step-up in innovation" for the 10-year anniversary smartphone, the analyst contends. Her supply-chain channel checks also indicate a third iPhone model, with a 5.8 inch screen, larger and more expensive than the 5.5 inch and 4.7 inch versions.
Jankowski now expects 230M and 235.9M iPhone sales in 2017 and 2018, respectively, above her previous estimates of 227.3M and 231.5M. She keeps a Buy rating on Apple shares.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.