BofA Global Research upgraded APPL to "buy"
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), the former most valuable publicly traded company in the world, is getting a boost today thanks to a bull note from BofA Global Research. The analyst upgraded the Big Tech stock to "buy" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $225 from $208, implying a 20% upside for AAPL on expectations of rebounding iPhone sales.
This bull note follows yesterday's news that Apple has once again been banned from selling current version of its Apple Watch that are equipped with blood oxygen sensors, after medical device maker Masimo filed a patent-infringement case. Early reports indicate that Apple plans to disable the feature.
Last seen 2.3% higher at $186.81, Apple stock is attempting to overcome a 5.1% year-to-date deficit. After hitting an all-time high of $199.62 on Dec. 14, the security lost more than 7% over the following month to fall below recent support at its 40-day moving average. However, AAPL still boasts a more than 35% year-over-year gain.
Options traders are betting on more moves higher, too. Already today, more than 183,000 bullish bets have crossed the tape, which is triple the intraday average amount. Most popular is the January 187.50 call, followed by the 190 call in the same monthly series.
Circling back to analyst sentiment, covering brokerages are overwhelmingly bullish, but there remains room for a shift in sentiment. This is per the 10 of 28 analysts that still rate Apple stock a tepid "hold" or worse.