Apple just got a little closer to a $1 trillion market cap after reaching new records. One market watcher sees the world’s largest company breaking through to even higher highs.
“We’re still bullish on the name,” said Michael Bapis, partner and managing director at the Bapis Group at HighTower Advisors. “They have gone from a high-flyer to revolutionizing the tech industry to almost a value tech name.”
Reasonable valuations and dividend yields factor into Bapis’ love for the stock. Apple trades at 14.7 times forward earnings, below a 16 times multiple on the S&P 500 and nearly 21 times multiple on the Nasdaq composite.
Apple’s dividend yield, which has risen four times in the past five years, currently sits at 1.6 percent.
But, Bapis says his faith in the stocks’ performance boils down to something simpler than valuations and yields.
“They’re the king of the space right now, and until someone dethrones the king they’re going to remain up there,” said Bapis. “We’re long the stock. We expect it to perform well over the next 12 to 18 months and so we’re sticking with it.”
Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, shares in Bapis’ bullish view over the long term. He expects shifting sources of revenue to drive growth in the years ahead.
“They’re transitioning from being more of a cellphone player to more of a subscriptions-based business with higher margins that are much more predictable,” said Morganlander.
Apple’s software and services segment has experienced some of the company’s strongest growth in recent quarters. Segment sales rose 30 percent in the first three months of 2018, building upon 17 percent growth in the same quarter of 2017. Analysts surveyed by FactSet anticipate segment sales to rise by 23 percent this year. Services currently make up 13 percent of total revenue.
“On the long run we would be buyers of this if you have a five- to seven-year time horizon,” said Morganlander. “In the short run though, one to two months out, perhaps we would be holding off on buying this because we believe it’s in overbought territory at this inflection point.”
Its stock has climbed 8.5 percent this year, roughly double the increase on the Nasdaq. It trades 9 percent higher than its 200-day moving average. Its relative strength index hit 67 on Friday, inching toward the 70 threshold indicative of overbought conditions.
Apple shares shot sharply higher last week in its best weekly performance since October 2011. An earnings and sales beat and billionaire investor Warren Buffett increasing his position triggered its rally.
Source: Investment Cnbc
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