Baird Continues to Bet on Power of Apple's (AAPL) Platform; Sees $100B Buyback, Not Major M&A
Get Alerts AAPL Hot Sheet
Rating Summary:
39 Buy, 25 Hold, 7 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 15 | Down: 11 | New: 13
Join SI Premium – FREE
Baird analyst William Power is expecting Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to report solid Q1 results in-spite of possible risks to Q2 forecasts in light of iPhone X promotions and remains positive on the continuation of platform strengths, a plethora of growth opportunities and tax reform benefits. The analyst believes another iPhone cycle is likely in the fall and would be an aggressive buyer on any dips in the equity.
As for repatriated cash, Power sees Apple using the money to "super-size" the current buyback plan while increasing the dividend modestly. He suspects another $100 billion in buybacks could drive next year EPS levels up by nearly 10%
Further, Power is not expecting a major M&A transaction "just because it has more cash on-shore" and notes a Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) acquisition doesn't move the financial needle. The analyst also believes an entrance into autos via Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) seems unlikely.
Baird maintains an Outperform rating and price target of $190.00.
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Apple's June guidance will miss Street estimates - Barclays
- EU Antitrust Regulators Concerned About Impact of KKR, Telecom Italia Deal on Viability of Wholesale Market - Reuters
- Quest Diagnostics (DGX) PT Raised to $145 at Evercore ISI
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Analyst Comments, Analyst EPS View, Rumors, Stock BuybacksRelated Entities
Robert W Baird, Tesla, Definitive AgreementSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!