German Telecom Hints iPhone Sept 19 Release Date; Analysts up Pt of Apple’s Stock on iPhone Sales Prediction
German telecom Deutsche Telekom hinted on a Sept 19 release date of the much anticipated Apple Inc's iPhone 6, ValueWalk reports.
Deutsche Telekom is purportedly making its service attractive to the customers by saying that the latest smartphone from Apple Inc. will be release in mid-September.
The telecom might have based its assumption to the traditional release date done by Apple Inc. in the past. The company commenced selling its iPhone 5S and iPhone 5c on Sept 20.
Meanwhile, even without Apple's confirmation of the iPhone 6 release date, some analysts are lifting their price targets of Apple stock base on predicted iPhone sales.
Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi increased his price target to $700 from $615 on Wednesday and maintained his "outperform" rating. Apple stock performs impressively in anticipation of new products, particularly of a new iPhone device, he said. Furthermore, he is expecting for Apple to be releasing iWatch in the last quarter of 2014. He also noted that a number of growth investors notably "underweight" Apple.
"Given Apple's large benchmark weight, we believe that growth investors are likely to close/minimize underweight positions heading into a major product cycle that could trigger upward revisions and investor enthusiasm," Sacconaghi said.
Sacconaghi also predicts that the upcoming stock split will push for Apple to stock to jump with ease.
"Historically, our analysis points to evidence that companies that split their shares outperform in the near-term," he said.
For Sacconaghi, Apple's valuation at $625 is considerably below the overall market valuation.
"Even at a price of $700/share, Apple would trade at ~10x EV/FCF, a valuation that would still imply a modest free cash flow decline in perpetuity. In essence, we do not believe investors are likely to worry about Apple's valuation level as long as estimates appear likely to increase in the face of positive news flow."
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek reiterated his Buy rating and placed a $700 price target on Apple stock. Apple suppliers in Asian are showing positive signs for iPhone 6 with an estimated shipment of 80 million units, Misek notes.
"With more than the usual number of prototypes floating around, here are some highlights (with the caveat that Apple might be purposely leaking to confuse competitors): 5.5" OLED phone with 2k >660ppi display; iTV with full gesture control , voice control, and 4K; touchscreen MacBook Air running on A8; 4" OLED iPhone that unfolds into an iPad mini; smartwatch prototypes including curved bangle-type and curved-screen; and wearables including health care appliances and payment authentication modules," Misek said, contradicting investors' pessimism that Apple is already slacking in innovation.
Barclays analyst Ben A. Reitzes had also raised his price target of Apple to $655 from $590 with strong iPhone sales as the major catalyst, AppleInsider reports. Expectations for huge iPhone sales by mid-2014 is expected if Apple is to release bigger screen iPhones, Reitzes added.