NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Apple are getting a boost, higher by 2.49% to $110.43 in late morning trading on Thursday, after analysts at Janney Capital Markets said the company is likely to beat Wall Street expectations due to the strength of the iPhone. The firm increased its iPhone sell-through estimate for the December quarter to 62 million from 60 million units. Janney Capital noted that wait times have been significant, which also reveals that some current demand could spill over into the second quarter. Exclusive Report: Jim Cramer's Best Stocks for 2015 STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. Analysts at the firm also raised its first quarter earnings and revenue forecasts for Apple to $2.55 per share on $66.6 billion in sales, both higher than the consensus estimate. Janney kept its "buy" rating with a $117 fair value estimate on shares of Apple. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates APPLE INC as a Buy with a ratings score of A+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate APPLE INC (AAPL) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, growth in earnings per share, revenue growth, notable return on equity and expanding profit margins. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 37.71% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, AAPL should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year. APPLE INC has improved earnings per share by 20.3% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, APPLE INC increased its bottom line by earning $6.43 versus $5.66 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($7.77 versus $6.43). Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 13.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 12.4%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share. Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. When compared to other companies in the Computers & Peripherals industry and the overall market, APPLE INC's return on equity exceeds that of the industry average and significantly exceeds that of the S&P 500. 42.68% is the gross profit margin for APPLE INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 20.10% is above that of the industry average. You can view the full analysis from the report here: AAPL Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
Click to view a price quote on AAPL. Click to research the Consumer Durables industry.
from Latest TSC Headlines http://ift.tt/1wx5z6T
No comments:
Post a Comment