Apple’s stock rose notably on Monday as investors looked ahead to the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report, buoyed by renewed optimism from Wall Street, Mackenzie Tatananni reports for Barron’s.
J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee lifted his price target on Apple shares to $315 from $305, while keeping an Overweight, or Buy, rating on the stock. The upgrade reflects Chatterjee’s view that recent concerns have created an attractive entry point for the shares, even as Apple has lagged the broader market in recent months.
On Monday, Apple shares climbed 3.3%, outperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite’s 0.6% gain. Over the past 12 months, AAPL has risen about 11%, trailing the Nasdaq’s more than 22% advance during the same period.
Chatterjee highlighted that investor concerns — particularly around a sharp increase in memory prices pressuring gross margins — have overshadowed stronger underlying data, including solid sales momentum for the iPhone 17.
In Chatterjee’s assessment, fears may be overblown. He pointed out that Apple currently trades at 30 times forward earnings, a level below the peak multiples the stock has typically reached ahead of major iPhone product cycles (such as the previous high of around 32x entering the 5G upgrade supercycle).
The upcoming earnings report, scheduled for Thursday, January 29th, covering the crucial holiday quarter through December, is expected to serve as a positive catalyst. Chatterjee anticipates the results will demonstrate Apple’s “reliable execution” amid a challenging economic backdrop. While the market awaits the next big demand surge potentially tied to the iPhone 18 cycle, he believes Thursday’s numbers could showcase resilience and modest beats on both revenue and earnings, supported by strong iPhone 17 demand and controlled operating expenses.
This bullish stance from J.P. Morgan comes as Apple navigates a mix of opportunities in services growth, AI integration, and its massive installed base, even with near-term headwinds like component cost inflation.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s all-time quarterly revenue record is incoming!
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