Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar has increased the firm’s price target on Apple from $165 to $175 and reiterated a bullish “Overweight” rating on AAPL shares.
The analyst recently surveyed 1,000 Americans and found that only 6% plan to buy or upgrade to the iPhone 13 this fall and winter. “In our eyes, we were a bit surprised by the lack of interest in the upcoming iPhone launch,” Kumar tells investors in a research note. However, based on conversations with multiple AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile stores, Kumar believes iPhone 12 demand “remains strong, as trade-in programs and overall strong features continue to push adoption.” He sees the iPhone 13 “continuing the momentum, even if the features are mostly similar to the iPhone 12.”
MacDailyNews Take: On Wednesday, a survey found that 10% of current iPhone users plan to upgrade to “iPhone 13” sight unseen. That translates to over 100 million “iPhone 13” upgraders. Even the 6% measured by Piper Sandler’s survey translates to over 60 million upgraders — and that’s not counting switchers or the millions who will be swayed by Apple’s presentation, features, benchmarks, camera improvements, etc.