Drexel's Brian White Maintains Apple's Buy Rating, $200 Price Target

• Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL have declined 19.69 percent over the past six months, from $124.50 on July 24, 2015.
• Drexel Hamilton’s Brian J. White has maintained a Buy rating on the company, with a price target of $200.
• White mentioned there had been increased anxiety leading up to the 1QFY16 results report, but now investors could begin to look forward to the iPhone 7 ramp.

Analyst Brian White stated that Apple reported its 1QFY16 with the EPS ahead of the consensus but slightly below the estimate, while the revenue came in below consensus. Sales also came in below the estimate and the consensus.

Gross margin for the quarter was marginally ahead of the estimate, with the operating margin beating the estimate. The company’s operating profit, however, came in slightly below the estimate.

Related Link: Barclays Lowers Apple PT To $142, But "Franchise Value Remains Intact"

White also mentioned that “the company provided a conservative 2Q:FY16 outlook given the late stages of this 6-series iPhone cycle,” while adding that Apple was close to the end of the 6-series cycle, which usually leads to weaker demand.

The iPhone unit sales were below the estimate for 1QFY16, as were the iPad units and Mac unit sales.

“Using the midpoint of Apple's 2Q:FY16 outlook, we calculate EPS of approximately $1.94 versus our estimate of $2.52 (Street is at $2.22),” White added.