By Senad Karaahmetovic
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives has defended Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) after several Wall Street analysts cut their price targets on the Cupertino-based tech titan.
Ives notes that the supply chain situation is "steady with slight improvements" in Asia, while the demand for iPhone products remains resilient.
“We believe iPhone demand is holding up slightly better than expected (despite the various supply issues that have plagued Apple and the rest of the tech sector). That said, the Street is well aware of weakness this quarter and we believe ultimately is looking past June numbers to the September and December quarters with all eyes on the iPhone 14 production/demand cycle for the Fall,” Ives told clients in a note.
The analyst estimates that Apple has gained around 300 bps of market share in the key China region in the past year. This is important as the installed base is the key to Apple’s long-term success.
“The stickiness of the iPhone upgrade cycle is being underestimated by investors in our opinion as we estimate that roughly 240 million of Apple's 1 billion iPhones have not been upgraded to a new smartphone in roughly 3.5 years.”
Net-net, Ives reiterated Apple as the favorite tech name for 2022.