Analysts are weighing in on the technology giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and software giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), offering compelling reasons for their ratings and summarizing expectations.
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Shares of Apple (AAPL – Get Report) were gaining 0.5% to $115.86 on Tuesday morning, ahead of the iPhone maker’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings report, which is due after the market closes.
Analysts are officially calling for Apple to deliver a quarterly profit of $1.87 a share – 32% higher than the same period a year ago – but are secretly looking for much more. Shares of the company subsequently rose by 3.21% in after-hours trading. There are 24 analysts in total total that contribute to the Zacks consensus target.
Apple announced its Q4 earnings on Tuesday evening, and it reported a few solid numbers.
According to TipRanks.com, which measures analysts’ and bloggers’ success rate based on how their calls perform, analyst Keith Bachman has a total average return of 19.8% and a 64.4% success rate. Investors polled by Estimize are looking for the company to report a quarterly adjusted profit of $1.91 – or 2% more than Wall Street analysts.
Expectations for the 6s cycle have fallen and we see March as the low point for growth.
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We rate APPLE INC (AAPL) a BUY. In a report issued on October 15, Barclays also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock with a $150 price target. The most bearish price target has the stock at $122 within the year. China made up nearly one-quarter of revenue, down from 27% in Q3 and well up from 15% a year earlier. With a downside potential of 0.11%, the stock’s consensus target price stands at $54.19.
