FBR: Look past the hand-wringing on iPhone numbers; reiterates $175 price target

“FBR & Co.’s Daniel Ives late yesterday reiterated an Outperform rating on shares of Apple, and a $175 price target, noting that it has bocome ‘“a battleground stock given the confluence of China headwinds, worries about 6s growth prospects, and uninspiring June results,'” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.

Although there are conflicting reports in the supply chain around mixed demand for 6s following stellar opening weekend sales (13 million), we believe this is overblown as Apple has ramped up its supply of iPhones with a few tweaks in order to meet healthy demand and is on pace to show year-over-year growth for FY16. This will be a bipolar outcome for Apple (and its investors) following results/guidance, as the narrative for the Apple story rests on the shoulders of 6s with ‘good enough’ December guidance starting to turn the tide in a positive direction… With less than 30% of customers upgrading to the iPhone 6 to date, coupled with this innovative 6s model (e.g. Force Touch) and strong launch weekend sales, we believe Apple’s 6s is on firm footing going into FY16. — FBR & Co. analyst Daniel Ives

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MacDailyNews Take: Ives is right. This faux concern Wall Street constantly exhibits about Apple, as if they are going to fail any minute now, is tiresome and wrong. Be concerned about Apple’s roadkill for a change, Wall Street. They’re the ones lying bloodied in the street, not Apple Inc.