Apple may have seen far better monthly sales improvement in June than it historically does, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets says in a note to clients as he raises his target price on Apple from $180 to $200.
Brandon Nispel wrote late Monday that KeyBanc’s analysis of U.S. card spending indicated a 23% month-over-month bump in spending on direct Apple purchases during June, when looking at transactions of at least $400. The good news is that rate is above the 2% average growth seen for that month over the past three years.
But when stepping back and looking at data for the June quarter on the whole, Nispel flagged a 15% quarter-over-quarter decline in spending, compared with a 9% decline on average over the past three years.
His caution on the most recent quarter, results for which Apple will report Aug. 3, comes as he remains upbeat about Apple shares over a longer span. He boosted his price target on Apple shares to $200 from $180 Monday and kept an overweight rating.
In Nispel’s view, “the bull case for the stock with excitement around new products and investors reaching for safety is resulting in an elevated multiple.”
MacDailyNews Take: Expect some near-term turbulence as the market digests and deals with the Nasdaq 100 special rebalancing.
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For many, that’s enough of a reason to own this company at dinosaur game over 30-times earnings. Analysts reaffirmed Apple’s consensus price target at $200,