One of the top financial institutions in the world unveiled their top stock entering this 2018. The bank crowned Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as their top bet for the best stock to follow and keep an eye on as 2018 creeps closer and closer.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is putting their hopes on Apple as it continually grows larger and larger every year. The popularity of the new iPhones, namely the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X continues to garner a massive following in the tech consumer market; the sold-out status of the iPhone X also proves that a hefty price tag on an iPhone can’t hinder their market dominance.
One more thing that the financial institution pointed is the popularity of the iPhone X and on how it creates a new following amongst a market who have previously used different brands of smartphones. Currently, the iPhone X’s stocks and availability are still inconsistent but this kind of limited availability only drives the sales further.
According to the company’s analyst, Katy Huberty, "Additional data show that iPhone X adoption in China is at a faster pace than the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus … Despite faster penetration of iPhone X vs. iPhone 8/8 Plus, we believe there remains significant pent-up demand from the base of 2+-year-old iPhone owners,"
One thing that the financial institution also put a great stress on is the significant growth the company had in China; reports revealed that Apple’s iPhone X has been selling faster than expected despite having a bigger than usual price tag, the sales have also been exceeding the iPhone 8 and the 8 plus locally despite the cheaper price.
The company’s stock has been a strong indication on the company’s overall performance this year; just these past three months, Apple managed to soar by a whopping 14% while putting on a whopping 51% increase since January.
On the latest note, the tech giant recently suffered an incremental dip after they received an unprecedented downgrade from Nomura; Apple dropped a flat 1% on that session. The company was downgraded from “Buy” to “Neutral”. This is the second time that Apple received a downgrade; the first one was on June 11 by Mizuho Securities.
According to Analysts Jeffrey Kvaal, "Apple is certainly not the same company as it was five or even three years ago. The growth in its services business is a particularly notable departure though hardly the only one," he wrote. "We do believe Apple's improvements merit a richer multiple than in prior years, though marginally so. We do not consider any of these sufficient, either individually or in aggregate, to flout the historical precedent."