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Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the China Development Forum in Beijing, China March 23, 2019.
Thomas Peter | Reuters
Raymond James on Thursday upgraded Apple shares and said that while its call may be premature it has “increased conviction in the impact of a 5G iPhone product cycle in 2020.”
The firm upgraded Apple to “outperform” from “market perform,” and established a price target of $250. Raymond James also said that Apple’s settlement with Qualcomm was a game changer, as it will allow Apple to move ahead using Qualcomm’s modems in the 2020 iPhone.
“Our call may well be early – we expect this year’s iPhone cycle to be the weakest in years, and today may not be the right time to buy ahead of that weakness, ” Raymond James analyst Chris Caso said in a note.
“But since the near-term market moves are being driven by macro conditions as much as fundamentals, we’ve decided to upgrade now and let our clients decide the best time to execute on our idea,” he said.
Shares of Apple were trading up slightly 0.62% to $204.49 in premarket trading. The company will report its third-quarter earnings after the bell on July 30.
