“Morgan Stanley’s Apple analyst, Katy Huberty, increased her fiscal 2016 iPhone unit growth rate from 3% to 7% and can see a realistic upside to 12%,” Chuck Jones writes for Forbes. “She also increased her price target TGT +0.37% from $155 to $162 based on a fiscal 2016 EPS estimate of $10.52 (up from $10.29).”
“Morgan Stanley’s latest AlphaWise survey indicates an accelerated upgrade cycle for Apple’s iPhone in both the US (minor uptick from 58% to 60%) and China (large increase from 49% to 74%),” Jones writes. “The survey also shows that iPhone loyalty is at all time highs of 93% in the US (which is close to Kantar’s 87% data) and 80% in China (up from 75%).”
“The AlphaWise survey points to replacement cycles shortening and this is even before the US carriers have fully moved away from the subsidy model and Apple’s Upgrade Program has been implemented,” Jones writes. “The results indicate a 9 percentage point increase from 29% to 38% of respondents planning to upgrade in the next year in the US and for China the shift is from 69% to 75%. ”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: There’s a lot of good news for Apple and, consequently, bad news for handset makers not named Apple in Morgan Stanley’s AlphaWise survey.