According to market research data from Counterpoint Research, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) outperformed its competitors for the second consecutive month in November. Sales grew 15.5% month-over-month, driven by demand for the iPhone 13 series, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Performance
Apple had a 23.6% market share in November and outperformed all other phone manufacturers in October for the first time since 2015. Markedly, the price of the iPhone 13 series released in 2021 was in line with that of the iPhone 12 models. Chinese consumers accounted for approximately 20% of total iPhone sales, with sales promotions during special events in China contributing to the increased iPhone demand.
Over the nine months ended September 30, 2021, Apple recorded revenue of more than $282 billion, with iPhone sales contributing almost 39% in the third quarter.
Despite challenges including chip shortages and the persistence of pandemic, which led to the closure of Apple’s New York City retail stores recently, AAPL’s stock price increased 34% in 2021, surpassing the S&P 500’s gain of 26.9% for the third straight year.
Wall Street’s Take
On January 2, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained a Buy rating and a price target of $200 (12.63% upside potential) on the stock.
Ives said, “Based on our supply chain checks over the last few weeks, we believe demand is outstripping supply for Apple by roughly 12 million units in the December quarter which now will add to the tailwinds for Cupertino in the March and June quarters as the supply chain issues ease in 1H22.”
Looking forward, the analyst added, “We also believe new product introductions such as the highly anticipated AR headset Apple Glasses will make its debut in 2H2022 (summer timeframe) based on our recent Asia checks…In addition, we believe Apple is aggressively ramping up its auto ambitions behind closed doors and we continue to expect an Apple Car by 2025 with new growth levers coming to the Apple story over the next few years.”
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 21 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average Apple stock forecast of $175.28 implies 1.3% downside potential from current levels.
Website Traffic
TipRanks’ Website Traffic Tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (NYSE: SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into Apple’s performance this quarter.
According to the tool, the Apple website recorded a 19.32% decrease in global visits in November compared to the same period last year. Also, a quarter-to-date comparison showed a fall of 17.65% compared to Q1 2021, while year-to-date website traffic growth stands at 13.9%.
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