Why Apple shares are going ‘much higher,’ according to analyst Gene Munster

While Apple shares have fallen from their year-to-date highs, tech investor Gene Munster says there are more record highs this year awaiting the tech giant.

This is even in spite of what Munster says may be a “choppy” few months for Apple before the end of the year. The Loup Ventures co-founder says that investors may start to “unwind” amid selling pressure and that Wall Street may actually be “too high” in its September quarter estimates for Apple, especially as the iPhone 8 probably won’t be released until the December quarter, in his view.

“It doesn’t change the big picture about all the good things that Apple’s doing, but it does mean there is some near-term downside risk to those estimates,” Munster, a widely followed Apple watcher, said Friday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”

In fact, Munster believes the tech giant’s stock could even slip 5 percent before another rally. But there are fundamentals that according to the tech investor could drive Apple up to the $160 or $170 range, meaning that Munster sees at least another 10 percent rally from Monday’s levels in the cards for Apple.

Munster says that next year investors will be looking forward to an earnings per share estimate of $11 or $12 in the following year, and that they will also “look at Apple’s service business at a higher multiple.”

With increasing earnings and potential earnings-multiple expansion, “I think you can get to a share price much higher than the stock is today.”

Despite a 7 percent drop in the shares in the last month, Apple is still up nearly 24 percent year to date. The stock hit multiple all-time highs in May as reports emerged speculating on details about the highly anticipated iPhone 8.

[Source”timesofindia”]