Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) started its fiscal-year 2022 with a bang, reporting record first-quarter results for most product categories and geographies. An analyst at Tigress Financial is optimistic that the company can sustain the momentum throughout the year.
The Apple Analyst: Tigress' Director of Research Ivan Feinseth reiterated a Strong Buy rating and increased the price target to $210, representing an upside of roughly 25% from current levels.
The Apple Thesis: A strong demand cycle, coupled with an improving supply chain, will continue to drive accelerating business performance trends, Feinseth said in a note.
The analyst sees further improvement in supply-chain constraints, an acceleration in Services growth and an extended 5G-powered iPhone supercycle. Additional support will come from the company's ongoing product innovations, the analyst said.
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Apple's strong balance sheet and cash flow will continue to fund growth and strategic acquisition, Feinseth said. These will help enhance shareholder returns through dividend increases and share repurchases, he added.
Apple, the analyst said, continues to be a "must-own stock" due to the company's industry leadership position and significant economic earnings power and brand equity.
"The ever-growing AAPL user base and ecosystem drive increased growth in its highly profitable Services business," the analyst noted.
Additional growth will likely come from Apple's focus on healthcare and integrating health monitoring into wearables, Feinseth said.
All these developments set the company up for "another year of record performance," Tigress stated.
AAPL Price Action: Apple shares closed at $172.79 on Tuesday after rising 2.32% on the day.
