What’s Up With Apple: Analyst Boosts Price Target, Globalstar on the Bubble, and More

Now that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) has set the date for its fall event (it is September 14 at 1 p.m. PT), generating a whole new round of summaries of what the company will do and say, it is time to look at what the event is likely to mean to Apple’s stock price.

Warren Buffett’s stake in Apple has grown from around $124 billion to nearly $140 billion since June 30, assuming he hasn’t sold more shares. Had he not trimmed his position last year, he could have pocketed another $6 billion, according to Markets Insider.

Baird analyst William V. Power has a more bullish position on Apple’s value than does Buffet. On Wednesday, Power raised his price target on the stock from $160 to $170 (the stock closed at $155.11 on Wednesday). Essentially that means that Power thinks Apple stock will add about 9.6% to its share price over the next 12 months.

[nativounit]

According to a report in Barron’s, Power noted that Apple faces tougher year-over-year comparisons for revenues and earnings due to the boost the company got last year due to the pandemic lockdowns. But:

While [year-over-year comparisons] will become more challenging and regulatory pressures could increase, we remain focused on the long-term eco-system opportunity coupled with the company’s strong profitability and cash flow. We continue to view shares as attractive for long-term oriented investors.

One thing Power is less certain about is the iPhone satellite connectivity. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said last week that Apple was going to introduce satellite communications, probably in conjunction with Globalstar, that would give iPhone users access to the satellite network when they couldn’t get a cell signal. That prediction sent Globalstar stock soaring, and its share price has nearly doubled since Kuo’s pronouncement.

On Sunday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said his sources don’t believe the new iPhone will have functioning satellite communications, causing the shares to dip in Tuesday trading. The stock jumped 30% on Wednesday to close at $2.69, on reports that some traders had seen a document from the Federal Communications Commission that could indicate that Apple had indeed struck a deal with Globalstar. Buy the rumor, sell the news.

Last week, shareholder Nia Impact Capital filed a shareholder resolution to be voted on at Apple’s 2022 shareholders’ meeting requiring the company to “prepare a public report assessing the potential risks to the company associated with its use of concealment clauses in the context of harassment, discrimination and other unlawful acts.” The concealment clauses the resolution refers to are included in the nondisclosure agreement Apple employees sign asserting that they will not share the company’s proprietary information about products or processes. An activist group has asked Apple to exempt claims of workplace harassment or discrimination, a request the company has so far refused to make. Stay tuned.

[recirclink id=948696][wallst_email_signup]