Apple rises amid Wall Street praise, strong iPhone 17 data

[Apple Store New iPhone 17 Goes On Sale In London]

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL]) shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading on Monday following some praise from Wall Street investment firms and positive iPhone 17 data from Counterpoint Research.

Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah upgraded Apple to Buy from Hold and raised his price target to $315 from $226, citing “material upside” for the iPhone in light of strong iPhone 17 sales. Investment firm Evercore ISI added Apple to its Tactical Outperform List, also mentioning strong iPhone sales data. It reiterated its Outperform rating and $290 price target.

Separately, Counterpoint Research said [https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/iPhone-17-Far-Outpaces-iPhone-16-Sales-in-China-and-US-During-First-10-Days-of-Availability] the iPhone 17 series has outsold the iPhone 16 series by 14% in its first 10 days of availability in both the U.S. and China. The influential research firm noted that the base model of the iPhone 17 has been the “major driver,” as sell-out data is up by nearly 33% over the iPhone 16. Delving deeper, Counterpoint added that Chinese consumers have favored the base model iPhone 17.

Conversely, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has been the biggest seller in the U.S., due in part to strong subsidies from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

“Carriers here are looking to maximize lifetime value by converting strong device subsidies into years of higher monthly service revenue through 24 or 36-month financing contracts,” Counterpoint analyst Maurice Klaehne said in a statement [https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/iPhone-17-Far-Outpaces-iPhone-16-Sales-in-China-and-US-During-First-10-Days-of-Availability]. “The emphasis on Pro Max offers has made the ultra-premium Apple device more accessible to customers, bolstering premiumization trends and strengthening high-value customer ties to the Apple ecosystem.”

The iPhone Air, which received [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4493392-apple-takes-wraps-off-iphone-17-line-including-slimmer-iphone-air] a lot of media and analyst attention at last month's unveiling, has performed better than the iPhone 16 Plus, even if some data points [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495733-apple-iphone-17-demand-likely-up-as-lead-times-rise-morgan-stanley]in the U.S. are mixed.

Last week, Chinese news outlet South China Morning Post reported [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4505213-apple-iphone-air-sold-out-in-china-within-minutes-of-launch-report] that the iPhone Air had sold out “within minutes” in the Asian country after it received approval.

Apple is set to report its most recent quarterly results on Oct. 30 after the close of trading. A consensus of analysts expect [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL/earnings/estimates?period=quarterly] it to earn $1.76 per share on $101.71B in revenue.

MORE ON APPLE

* Apple: Inside The iPhone 17 Supercycle [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4829569-apple-inside-iphone-17-supercycle]
* Six Reasons To Ride Apple's Rally Cautiously And Why Continue To Use APLY [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4829226-six-reasons-to-ride-apples-rally-cautiously-and-why-continue-to-use-aply]
* Apple's Implicitly Expected EPS Growth: Realistic Or Bubble? [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4828409-apples-implicitly-expected-eps-growth-realistic-or-bubble]
* Apple hit with antitrust lawsuit in China over App Store policies, fees [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4505530-apple-hit-with-antitrust-lawsuit-in-china-over-app-store-policies-fees]
* Apple’s iPhone 17 spurs strongest sales growth since pandemic: FT [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4505448-apple-s-iphone-17-spurs-strongest-sales-growth-since-pandemic-ft]