Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty “sees Apple probably delivering an ‘in-line June quarter but providing a slightly weaker-than-consensus September quarter outlook due to a possible October launch of the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone,'” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.
We currently see no delay in the ramp of Apple’s upcoming flagship 5.8″ or 6.5″ OLED iPhones. However suspected issues with LED backlight leakage have caused a 1 month delay in mass production of the 6.1″ LCD iPhone, although this is down from a 6-week delay baked into the original production forecast, according to suppliers. — Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty
Ray reports, “Still, Huberty, who has an Overweight rating on the stock, raises her price target to $232 from $214 to reflect the fact that peer stocks are getting more richly valued of late, [writing]: ‘We value Apple’s Hardware/Device business (82% of FY19 revenue) using a blend of an HPQ and MSFT EV / Sales multiple, and the Services business (18% of FY19 revenue) using the median of 10 internet/services/platform EV / Sales multiples. With the average internet/platform comp up 16% since May 1 (and MSFT up 12%), we’ve seen a meaningful re-rating of peer multiples, which subsequently increases our SOTP-driven price target for Apple to $232, from $214.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Suboptimal, if true, but better to have it right in October than wrong in September.