Baird Charges Apple Price Target During WWDC20, Expects 5G iPhone This Fall

Apple Inc. AAPL kicked off its annual developer conference, the WWDC, in a new virtual format Monday. 

The event highlighted Apple’s ongoing innovation efforts, and the company faces strong ecosystem benefits in the long-term, according to Baird.

The Apple Analyst

William Power maintained an Outperform rating on Apple and raised the price target from $320 to $390.

The Apple Thesis

Apple launched several software enhancements at WWDC20, although there were no real surprises, Power said in the Tuesday note. (See his track record here.)

Cupertino continued to focus on privacy and also announced plans to shift to Apple Silicon for the Mac, the analyst said. 

He highlighted the following updates from the iPhone maker:

• iOS 14: Numerous enhancements, including new home screen organization and the capability to replace your car key with your iPhone, which could make the iPhone even more indispensable.
• WatchOS: New workouts, hand wash detection and the long-anticipated sleep capability.
• AirPods Pro: Ability to automatically switch between devices plus apatial audio for surround sound.
• MacOS: Replacing Intel Corporation INTC chips with Apple Silicon for the Mac going forward.

“With 1.5 billion devices in use globally, including over 900 million iPhones, we believe Apple's broader eco-system is positioned to continue to flourish,” Power said. 

The company is likely to launch the 5G iPhone in the fall, according to Baird. 

AAPL Price Action

Shares of Apple were up 2.96% at $369.48 at the time of publication Tuesday. 

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Photo courtesy of Apple.