Apple Stock Surges as Analysts Report Rising Demand

Apple Stock

Apple Stock (NASDAQ:AAPL)

On Wednesday morning, investors bought Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock after hearing from two analysts that the company is seeing “good” momentum in China and an increase in iPhone demand. As a result, Apple stock surged. 

Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities, who has an outperform rating on Apple stock, pointed out that recent inspections in China have been “incrementally more favorable” as the nation reopens its economy and recovers from the lockdowns caused by COVID-19.

In an investor note, Ives stated, “The months of January and February, and early indications around March are steady on the iPhone front for Cupertino globally, which starkly contrasts what we saw in the supply-constrained December quarter due to zero Covid China issues.” This caused him to increase his price target for each share from $180 to $190.

Ives said that Apple has gained around 300 basis points in smartphone market share in China over the previous 12 months. The business has yet to witness substantial unit cutbacks from suppliers in Asia.

Ives stated that the handoff from iPhone 14 to iPhone 15 is smoother than the transition from peak to valley in previous iPhone cycles since the highly anticipated anniversary edition iPhone 15 is slated to ship in the September timeframe.

The next few months might see a variety of “noteworthy” announcements from Apple, according to Ives. They include the release of the company’s highly awaited mixed reality headset, a hardware subscription plan, expanded service bundling possibilities, and new Mac machines.

On a second note, Ben Bollin, an analyst at Cleveland Research, also predicted “better-than-expected” iPhone demand for the quarter.

Bollin noted that “feedback continues to call out [Apple] as gaining or maintaining share across hardware categories” and that “new this round of work” includes “increased chatter on [Apple’s] introduction of an AR/VR device perhaps at WWDC in June” (though “unit predictions are still uncertain”).

On Tuesday, Apple announced the release of a new yellow iPhone 14 and the expansion of its Emergency SOS satellite capability to several more nations.

Featured Image: Pexels @ energepic.com

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