Apple Inc. shares, which have come off from their all-time highs reached at the start of the year, could have an impending catalyst in the form of its earnings report.
The Apple Analyst
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel reiterated an Overweight rating and $191 price target on Apple shares.The Apple Thesis
Apple is tracking ahead of consensus hardware expectations for its December quarter, Nispel said, citing KeyBanc’s proprietary Key First-Look Data, or KFLD.The analyst clarified that KFLD consists of spending data from over 1.8 million unique KeyBank credit card and debit card customers in the U.S. but not international figures. The indexed spending for the fourth quarter, based on KFLD, showed 18 percent sequential growth in the fourth quarter, stronger than the previous three-year average of 13 percent, the analyst noted.
