By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares climbed 0.8% Thursday after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analyst Katy Huberty told investors that the upside in the stock is priced in.
The tech analyst said she expects the company's December quarter results to come in ahead of expectations. Regardless, Huberty warned that "Apple shares are up 19% since the October 4 low (vs. 5% for the S&P 500) suggesting December quarter upside is largely priced in."
However, she added that they would be buyers on any weakness after Apple's earnings report as they view the company as a more "defensive/quality outperformer in challenging markets given a 1.65B+ installed base, with high loyalty/retention rates, underweight institutional positioning, strong capital returns, and the tendency for Apple to outperform ahead of product cycles."
Apple shares are down 5% for the year to date.