Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw its shares gain in morning trade in New York, after Morgan Stanley raised its price target for the US tech giant despite delays to the launch of its next generation iPhone 8.
The Wall Street bank’s analysts hiked their target price for the maker of the iMac and the iPad to US$182 per share, up from US$177 previously, with the stock currently trading at US$150, up around 0.7% on the day.
READ: Apple hit by fresh iPhone 8 delay rumours after analysts point to development issues
In a note to clients, they said that when Apple reports results on August 1, they expect the company to provide a "weaker-than-consensus" outlook for its fourth quarter ending in September, because of the slightly later iPhone launch than typical, with an October shipment now predicted rather than the usual September date.
But the analysts said that, in their view, that delay "creates a dynamic of much better-than-normal December and March quarter seasonality, providing an attractive set up for the stock looking beyond the September guide."