The Sell-Side Sentiment On Apple's Third Quarter

Apple Inc. AAPL shares jumped more than 5 percent Wednesday, briefly pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 22,000 for the first time.

A number of Wall Street analysts weighed in on Apple following its huge second-quarter earnings report. Here’s a rundown of what they had to say.

Voices From The Street

Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley said Apple’s Q3 guidance reassured investors' concerned about reports of iPhone 8 delays. “We believe the iPhone installed base will exceed 635M exiting C2017, and this impressive installed base should drive strong iPhone replacement sales and earnings, as well as cash flow generation to fund strong long-term capital returns,” Walkley wrote.

Deutsche Bank analyst Sherri Scribner said iPad sales were a big surprise in Q2, but the entire second quarter was just the opening act for the iPhone 8 launch. “Given a saturated smartphone market, elongating refresh cycles, increased competition in China, and a growing secondary market, we think Apple will have a hard time delivering on Street expectations,” Scribner wrote.

UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said Apple’s business is expanding in all directions. “Aside from the solid Sep quarter guidance implying some new iPhone shipments, it is striking how every part of the business is doing well,” Milunovich wrote.

Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah said investors shouldn’t be too concerned with the run-up in Apple’s valuation ahead of the iPhone 8 launch. “We view the stock set up as favorable as 1) there is upside to Street revenue, GM and EPS through C2018, and 2) iPhone unit and overall AAPL revenue growth rates are actually setting up to be increasingly accelerative from mid-single digits 1HC2017 to 20%+ 1HC2018,” Baruah wrote.

Baird analyst William Power said Apple’s Services unit once again delivered impressive growth, including a 20 million sequential increase in paid subscribers. “Services revenue of $7.3 billion beat our $6.9 billion estimate and grew 22% YOY, driven by App Store, Music, iCloud, etc., and actually accelerated from recent growth rates,” Power wrote.

Related Link: Wall Street Weighs In On Amazon's Earnings Miss

Ratings And Price Targets

While most analysts had nothing but good things to say about Apple, some were more bullish than others:

• Canaccord has a Buy rating and $180 price target.
• Deutsche Bank has a Hold rating and $140 price target.
• UBS has a Buy rating and $180 price target.
• Loop Capital has a Buy rating and $180 price target.
• Baird has an Outperform rating and $172 price target.

At time of publication, shares of Apple were up 5.18 percent at $157.83.