Analysts Talk Apple Ahead of Earnings Call

You know what today is, right? Today is the day that Apple tells analysts and investors what it told them on the last earning call that it was going to tell them on this one, that iPhone sales fell year over year for the first time last quarter.

The questions now: how far will sales have fallen, will they beat the streets’—hopefully adjusted—expectations, and how will shareholders react to both the Q2 earnings and the Q3 guidance? Barron’s had three financial analysts throwing in some last thoughts ahead of this afternoon’s earnings call.

We begin with Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White. He used Monday’s note to reiterate his Buy rating on Apple shares and his twelve-month price target of $200. Yes, iPhone sales last quarter will have shown weakness, doesn’t sound like he’s expecting a serious ramp up in iPhone sales until iPhone 7. That could mean another couple of quarters of disappointment though he does point out the strong demand still being seen for iPhone SE. El Blanco also knows it’s not just an iPhone world, he and his are expecting Apple to announce sales of 11.9 million iPads and 4.25 million Macs for their recently ended March quarter.

Next up, RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani. He issued a note Monday reiterating his Outperform rating on Apple shares and his price target of $130. He seems most jazzed about the surprising strength of iPhone SE.

And finally, Cowen & Co. analyst Timothy Arcuri issued a note Monday reiterating his Outperform rating on Apple shares and his price target or $135. The drag about his note, he doesn’t see a real uptake for iPhone sales until the flagship phone Apple introduces in 2017. And already this week we’ve talked more about the 2017 iPhone than the law should allow.

Expect to hear about iPhone SE and a lot about last quarter on this afternoon’s earnings call. Apple will talk to the analysts at 2 p.m. PST, 5 p.m. EST. Starfish and coffee to be served after. You can hear the call as it happens. The company will live stream it on its website. It will make it available later this evening as a podcast and of course will hit all pertinent points and early reactions right here tomorrow.

Listen to the Apple Earnings Call Live via Apple