Wedbush analysts raised their target price on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) to $320 per share from $310 to reflect what they called “increased confidence” in the Apple growth story.
The analysts also believe the iPhone 17 launch is “off to a great start” heading into the key holiday December quarter in the US and China and noted the company’s continued strong Services growth.
After Thursday’s close, Apple reported fourth quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations. The company also provided a strong forecast for its December quarter.
“The elephant in the room remains the invisible AI strategy, and with the biggest consumer installed base in the world of 2.4 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones, the time is now for Apple to accelerate its AI efforts through Google in our view," the analysts wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
The Wedbush equity research team noted that for the key Holiday quarter, Apple expects total revenue growth of 10% to 12% year over year, which was significantly ahead of the Street’s whisper estimate of about 8%.
Apple shares edged 0.4% lower in mid-morning trading on Friday.