Apple Inc.’s stock
jumped 1.3% toward a record high in midday trading Wednesday, and has now doubled over the past year, after the technology giant said its App Store customers spent $1.42 billion during the holiday season, up 16% from the same period a year ago. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that growth was “impressive,” especially when coupled with his belief that Apple finished 2019 selling 67 million AirPods, well above his original estimate of 56 million AirPods. He said that speaks to the strength Apple is having monetizing its “golden jewel installed base of 925 million iPhones worldwide” heading into fiscal 2020. Ives expects a “strong” December-quarter report when Apple reports earnings on Jan. 28, and he said he believes Apple’s services business is “now starting to be properly valued” by investors. Ives reiterated his outperform rating and $350 stock price target. The stock, which was trading above the Jan. 2 record close of $300.35 and Tuesday all-time intraday high of $300.90, has soared rocketed 100.9% over the past 12 months, while the Nasdaq 100
has hiked up 36.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
has advanced 21.1%.
