Analyst Reactions to Apple June-Q Earnings
01 AUGUST 2022 - On the heels of Apple’s June-quarter earnings report, no one seems to have changed their rating on Apple shares, though Apple 3.0 did have word of two price target changes. One analyst lowered their 12-month price target on Apple shares by five-bucks to $185, while another raised their 12-month price target on Apple shares by five-bucks to $185.
Because the world’s a funny place.
Raymond James analyst Melissa Fairbanks did the cutting, though she did reiterate her firm’s “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. Honestly, there was nothing in the part of her note posted on Apple 3.0 to indicate why she lowered her price target. Maybe $190 just seems a bit too high in, what she refers to as, “times of uncertainty.”
Bumping their target up was Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani. To the analyst, “AAPL revenue appear more driven by supply constraints vs. macro worries – though they did note pockets of softness due to macro…” Still, he and his think “AAPL remains uniquely positioned to sustain mid/high single digit sales and low/mid teens EPS growth in FY23 and potentially beyond.” He’s got an “Outperform” rating on Apple and the aforementioned price target of $185.
Pulling from a couple of other notes of note: Loup Ventures principal Gene Munster hung on what he saw as “the most important comment from the call.” It was Apple CEO Tim “Cook's assessment that, in respect to the iPhone, ‘there was no obvious evidence of macroeconomic impact during the June quarter besides FX.’” Like a guy from Gilroy, Munster says, the iPhone “is stronger than an acre of garlic.”
Taking a more balanced approach, BoA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan listed a few points for the bulls and a few points for the bears from Apple’s call. Points on which bears will focus include:
Gross margins [that] are heading back lower (for FX and Mix reasons)
Slowing growth in Services
Weakness in the Wearables, Home, and Accessories category
Meanwhile, points for the bulls include:
The record June-quarter
Strength for iPhone
Apple’s growing installed base and record number of switchers
Mohan reiterated his firm’s “Buy” rating on Apple stock, saying many issues with the company seem “cyclical not structural.” His firm’s price target on the shares is $185.
