There's room for more upbeat analyst attention, though
It's been an outstanding run for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock, with the shares nabbing positive closes in eight of the last nine sessions. AAPL is poised for another daily gain -- up 1.9% to trade at $191.79, the best Dow stock so far -- after more bullish analysts chimed in on the FAANG stock as buzz around the Apple video streaming service grows.
Specifically, Needham upgraded AAPL stock to "strong buy" from "buy," and boosted its price target to $225 from $180 -- a 20% premium to last night's close at $188.16. Wedbush also boosted its price target on the equity, to $215 from $200, with both new targets implying an Apple market cap above $1 trillion.
Needham said Apple's new video streaming service -- expected to launch at an event next Monday, March 25 -- and a string of new products unveiled recently, including the iPad Mini, have "value upside." Wedbush echoed this sentiment, saying video streaming could eventually create new annual revenue of $7 billion to $10 billion. J.P. Morgan Securities also chimed in, noting Apple has the potential to become the second biggest content aggregator behind Netflix (NFLX).
Most analysts are already bullish on Apple stock, but there's certainly room for more upbeat attention to come down the pike for an equity that's up . Twelve of 27 covering brokerage firms maintain a lukewarm "hold" rating on AAPL, while the average 12-month price target of $182.61 is a discount to current trading levels.