Apple passed $2 trillion this week, but one bullish Apple analyst doesn’t think the stock is anywhere near its limits. In a note published Friday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote to clients that he thinks Apple has “a lot of gasoline” left in the tank.
Ives predicted Apple could reach as high as $600. Currently, AAPL is trading at $473.10, defying the overall market with its upward trajectory.
According to Ives, that upside potential exists because iPhone 12 will fuel a “supercycle.” He writes:
“While the soft macro and COVID backdrop are weighing on near-term consumer demand trends, Apple has a ‘once in a decade’ opportunity over the next 12 to 18 months as we estimate roughly 350 million of Cupertino’s 950 million iPhones worldwide are in the window of an upgrade opportunity. China remains a key ingredient in Apple’s recipe for success as we estimate roughly 20% of iPhone upgrades will be coming from this region over the coming year. To this point we are seeing considerable strength from the China region over the last few months, a dynamic we expect to continue heading into the next 6 to 9 months.”
Ives calls the looming iPhone 12 launch the most significant one since 2014’s iPhone 6. That model, you might recall, ushered in the iPhone’s best-ever year in terms of sales.
The analyst serves up other reasons to remain excited about Apple stock as well. Ives thinks Cupertino could sell 90 million pairs of AirPods this year, versus 65 million in 2019. He’s also hyped about Apple’s push into subscription services.
Ives is well-known for his bullish take on Apple stock. He’s been a massive cheerleader for the firm over the years. The most amazing thing about it, however, is that he may not be bullish enough. A recent tweet by Horace Dediu looked at predictions for Apple stock over the next year taken one year ago. Ives’ enthusiastic prediction for Apple was for it to hit $245 around now — nearly $200 less than its current price.
@philiped Rather than publishing current analyst price targets why not publish the targets from a year ago and the percent error? Here is what some of the Apple analysts were predicting it would be today. The $AAPL price is about $420 now. In one case the price is 3x the target. pic.twitter.com/hfeHsUh1TY
— Horace Dediu (@asymco) August 17, 2020
Care to take a guess where AAPL will be in August 2021? Let us know in the comments below.
