By Senad Karaahmetovic
Credit Suisse analysts hiked the price target on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock to $188 per share ahead of the company’s FQ2 earnings report that is due on May 04.
They believe iPhone demand remains robust during the quarter. The raised price target reflects increased revenue estimates as analysts say China demand is improving.
“Apple reported an increase in foot traffic in the region during January but cautioned the improvement could be tied to timing of Lunar New Year, although we think the trend was stable through the quarter. Anecdotally Nike reported on its F3Q23 (Feb) earnings call on March 21 that retail traffic in China grew y/y in January and improved further in February while LVMH recently reported a “significant” rebound in Asia sales following the lifting of Covid restrictions,” analysts noted in a report to clients.
Credit Suisse expects Apple to report EPS of $1.45 on revenue of $93.27 billion, which compares to the consensus for EPS of $1.43 on revenue of $92.51B.
Moreover, analysts expect the Cupertino-based titan to “likely” increase its dividend by about 5% and announce a new “~$90 billion of additional share repurchase” program.
“We think the company will continue to favor buy backs over dividends as it continues to work towards net cash neutral.”
Apple shares trade 0.4% higher in pre-market Thursday.