By Sam Boughedda
Canaccord lifted its price target on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $180 from $170 per share in a note to clients on Thursday, citing steady iPhone sales with a strong high-end mix.
Analysts reiterated a Buy rating on the stock. They explained that while the firm believes Samsung (KS:005930) picked up moderate North American market share during the March quarter with its Galaxy S23 launch, iPhones "remain the dominant selling brand at the leading three carriers with steady sales and a strong mix of the higher-end models."
As a result, Canaccord has modestly increased its iPhone estimates, offset partially by lower Mac estimates due to the ongoing global weak PC demand trends.
"We also believe Apple continues to benefit from mix and more favorable input costs, leading us to modestly increase our gross margin assumptions," added analysts.
"With iPhone sales remaining steady with strong global high-end market share, other hardware categories performing well, steady new subscriber growth and continued mix shift toward high-margin services, we believe Apple remains a solid long-term holding despite a difficult global macro backdrop."