Morgan Stanley stays Overweight on Apple despite EM, disclosure 'noise' - InvestingChannel

Morgan Stanley stays Overweight on Apple despite EM, disclosure ‘noise’

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty attributes iPhone average selling price increases, Mac sales and continued momentum in Services as driving Apple’s Q4 revenue beat, but notes its December quarter guidance was below expectations partially due to a currency headwind and macro uncertainty. She recognizes that Apple gave a wider guidance range than normal to reflect greater demand uncertainty, but noted that Apple has reported the top-end of its revenue guidance range in 7 of the last 10 quarters. Along with emerging market issues, Apple’s planned disclosure changes create some “noise” near-term, but Huberty sees those changes being good long-term, she tells investors. Following the report, she lowered her price target on Apple to $226 from $247 to account for peer multiple compression and slightly lower revenue due to foreign exchange headwinds, but maintains an Overweight rating on the shares.