Apple Remains the DJIA’s Best Performing Stock of 2017

[cnxvideo id=”507734″ placement=”ros”]Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) added $1.42 last week (about 0.9%), closing at $142.27 on Friday. The company remains the best-performing stock by a wide margin among the 30 equities that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). The company’s stock is up 22.84% year to date, well above second-place Boeing’s 15.87% improvement.

Apple stock closed at $140.68 on Wednesday and added $1.76 on Thursday to close at $142.44, the stock’s top-performing day last week.

The share price dipped on Wednesday following a report that China’s internet regulators warned three app companies that they needed to do a better job of screening out pornographic video content. The regulators also said that they planned to speak to Apple about stricter control over the offerings in the App Store.

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But it’s hard to keep the high-flying company down. Reports on Apple’s plans for new iPhones continue to drive both interest in the company and the share price. For example, although there have been rumors for some time that the company plans to release three new iPhones this fall, a report from Bloomberg probably ginned up more interest in the stock last week.

Citing unnamed sources, there will be new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones, the same form-factor as current iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The third device has been said elsewhere to be the same size as the 5.5-inch device but will employ a curved-edge design that will nearly eliminate the bezel and offer a screen size of up to 5.8 inches.

Credit Suisse also reiterated its Outperform rating on Apple stock and raised its price target from $160 to $170. The analyst specifically mentioned Apple’s services business, saying it expects services to contribute 33% of gross profit by 2020, from $26 billion annually to $52 billion.

Apple shares closed at $142.27 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $89.47 to $145.46. The consensus 12-month price target is $148.96 in a price target range of $104 to $185 per share.

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