Apple Inc (AAPL) Stock to Break Records At $150 As Analysts Remain Optimistic On Apple Watch, iPhone 6 Sales
Apple Inc stock surged to as much as $119.75 last week as the company broke another market capitalization record. The Cupertino-based company reached $700 billion in market cap which is considered a milestone since no other company in the U.S. has reached the same value. With Apple closing in on the gap between the iPhone 6 supply and demand, the holiday quarter is expected to be its best one yet.
KGI Research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple will sell at least 71.5 million iPhones by the end of the holiday quarter. The analyst believes iPhone sales will continue to rise if the supply chain can meet surging demand. If estimates prove to be true, it would represent a 40 percent year over year growth for the company, Techspot noted.
Kuo expects Apple's iPhone 6 to account for almost 60 percent of sales during the holiday quarter based on current trends. This means Apple is predicted to sell 41.65 million units of iPhone 6 while the bigger iPhone 6 Plus is estimated to sell 15 million units. The rest of the estimated sales will be made up of a combination of iPhone 4S, 5C and 5S, the analyst said.
Investor confidence in Apple Inc continues to grow since the company released its bigger-screened iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last September with the addition of slimmer iPads in October. With the launch of Apple Pay, the company has pushed customers deeper into Apple's ecosystem as the mobile payments system continues to gain traction and acceptance in the market.
In a note to investors, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White said Apple's new product lineup in the last three months, unimpressive competitor products and the U.S. market's constructive spending will put the company in the spotlight in the holiday season. Based on Apple's guidance for the holiday quarter, it expects to earn $63.5 billion to $66.5 billion in the holiday quarter. The company generated $57.6 billion from October to December 2013.
Apple is expected to release the Apple Watch in early 2015 with analysts predicting that the company's first wearable device will be a market success. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty predicts that Apple will sell 30 million units by the end the device's first year in the market, according to Fortune. Her forecast is based on the assumption that the Apple Watch can penetrate at least 10 percent of the company's 315 million users of iPhone 5 or newer units. She remains bullish on Apple stock with a price target as high as $150 per share.