Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw its shares rise in early trading on the first session of 2018, bolstered by some reassuring broker comment after recent falls amid concerns over demand for tech giant’s new iPhone models.
In a note to clients, analysts at Piper Jaffray reiterated an ‘outperform’ rating on Apple stock with an unchanged price target of US$200.
READ: Apple shares weak after Taiwan suppliers drop on report of slowdown in iPhone demand
After 20 minutes of New York trade, Apple shares were nearly 1% higher at US$170.69.
The broker’s analysts noted that a survey of 400 iPhone buyers has bolstered their expectations for the mix of iPhones to be sold in fiscal 2018.
"Specifically,” they said, “we are modelling iPhone X to account for 38% of iPhones sold this year, essentially in-line with our survey at 35% of buyers intending to buy iPhone X.”
The analysts said: “Our estimated mix of iPhone 8 in FY18 is 40% and our survey was exactly in-line at 40%."
They said the survey has given confidence that their estimates for average selling prices, revenue and EPS estimates are on track.