JPMorgan gave a ‘Buy’ rating on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) on Monday, October 12, with an Apple stock price target of $340.
The bullish call comes in spite of the recent order cut rumors, which analyst Samik Chatterjee acknowledged in the research note.
Specifically, delivery times for the iPhone Pro Max slowed more sharply than those for the iPhone Pro. Although the decline was driven primarily by international markets rather than the United States, it still suggests weaker demand compared with the same period last year.
Indeed, Apple itself had already forecast slower growth for the September quarter, projecting revenue growth of 9% to 11%, down from 16% in the June quarter, and a gross margin of 47% to 48%.
Nonetheless, the cut was not enough to deter the bank from giving the iPhone maker a bullish rating. The price target itself, however, implies only 1% upside potential from the current price of $336.
Is Wall Street still bullish on Apple?
JPMorgan’s Apple price prediction is in line with the average Wall Street projection, but looking at individual forecasts, it appears that analysts remain divided on Apple’s near-term outlook.
According to TipRanks data, the tech stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating based on 31 analyst ratings over the past three months: 16 “Buy,” 11 “Hold,” and four “Sell” recommendations.
The average price target stands at $337, nearly identical to that given by JPMorgan and Apple’s share price of approximately $336 at press time, implying limited upside of just around 0.3%. As for the price prediction range, AAPL share price targets for the next year range from $245 to $400.
In other words, the numbers suggest that, despite the generally positive consensus, analysts see little immediate price appreciation based on their average estimates.
Featured image via Shutterstock
