Yesterday Citi revised up its price target on Apple Inc (AAPL) from $170 to $220, while also maintaining a “Buy” rating on the stock.
Apple shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since January 30th. The stock went up 3.68% ($6.93) to $195.09, after touching an intraday high at $196.28, or a price level not seen since November 13th ($197.18).
Shares of Apple Inc have added 23.68% to their value so far in 2019 compared with a 13.88% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2018, Apple’s stock went down 6.79%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.
Citi analyst Jim Suva remains positive on the tech giants shares despite “dour sell side sentiment.” “Many growth investors have a negative view on the shares with short interest as a % of free float the highest it has ever been over the past 2 years,” Suva wrote in a client note.
The analyst projects Apple to increase its dividend next month and boost its buyback authorization by additional $100 billion. Suva also expects the tech company to generate free cash flow within the range of $60 billion to $65 billion every year.
Meanwhile, also on Thursday, Needham upgraded the tech giant from “Buy” to “Strong Buy”, as the firm cited the “valuation upside” of Apple’s ecosystem. Needham also revised up its 12-month price target on the shares from $180 to $225.
“We anticipate better than previously expected results from both Services and Wearables, Home and Accessories, as well as valuation upside created by falling churn and strong barriers to entry” for competition, Needham analyst Laura Martin wrote in a note to investors, cited by CNBC.
“Our 1Q19 proprietary survey tells us that, whether or not Wall Street believes AAPL is an ecosystem company, its users do,” the analyst also noted.
According to CNN Money, the 32 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $185.00, with a high estimate of $245.00 and a low estimate of $140.00. The median estimate represents a 5.17% downside compared to the closing price of $195.09 on March 21st.
The same media also reported that 19 out of 39 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 16 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.
Weekly Pivot Levels
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Apple Inc (AAPL) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $182.93
R1 – $190.52
R2 – $194.91
R3 – $202.50
R4 – $210.08
S1 – $178.54
S2 – $170.95
S3 – $166.56
S4 – $162.16
TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover 
