Apple Results Stir Animal Spirits Of Bulls And Bears

Apple Inc. AAPL's recent quarter stirred the animal spirits of both bulls and bears, with a veritable Noah's Ark of analysts weighing in.

FBR's Daniel H. Ives called it "a Picasso-like quarter," and although he didn't elaborate on his art metaphor, maintained an Outperform rating and $185 target.

Stifel's Aaron C. Rankers and Oppenheimer's Andrew Uerwitz each maintained Buy ratings and targets of $150 and $155, respectively, praising Apple's 71 percent growth in China during the recent quarter.

"A prolonged product cycle is in play," said Credit Suisse's Kulbinder Garcha, reiterating an Outperform rating, as did JPM's Alex Gauna.

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Wamsi Mohan of Bank of America said Apple Watch demand is exceeding supply and the company's smartphone brand is gaining market share.

Mohan boosted his target 3.6 percent to $145 and reiterated a Buy rating.

Also maintaining Buy ratings: Canaccord's T. Michael Walkley and Citi's James Suva, with Walkley boosting his target more than 3 percent to $155 and Suva holding at $145.

More bearish analysts included Nomura's Stuart Jeffrey, who said Apple's catalysts have "run out of steam" and its forecast for a sequential 19 percent revenue decline is steeper than its recent average seasonal decline of 16 percent.

Jeffrey maintained a Neutral rating and $133 target, calling the Apple Watch "a solution in search of a problem."

Raymond James' Tavis C. McCourt maintained a Market Perform rating and said Apple is in "deceleration mode" for iPhone sales, while gross margin on its Apple Watch is narrower than expected.

Also at Market Perform: Pacific Crest's Andrew Hargreaves and Wells Fargo's Maynard Um.

Hargreaves said the Wall Street consensus for Apple's 2016 results "leaves little room for error" and the company's shares are fairly valued.

Maxim's Nehal Chokshi maintained a Hold rating and said Apple management's commentary suggest a 27 percent decline in iPhone unit sales during the June quarter, which Chokshi called the company's "worst ever" performance.