Apple could become a trillion dollar company within 12 months, Wall Street analyst Brian White said in a research note obtained by MacRumors.
As of Friday, Apple’s stock price was at $144, down from its all-time high of $156 in May, but White says the lower price is “yet another buying opportunity” as investors anticipate the launch of the iPhone 8 later this year.
Read: Apple Planning To Release Three OLED Display iPhones Next Year
White said the iPhone company remains "among the most under appreciated stocks in the world."
White wrote :
“In our view, Apple's quarterly results will be less important this summer as investors are focused on the iPhone 8 this fall, along with the company's raised capital distribution initiative, depressed valuation and new innovations as showcased at WWDC. We still believe Apple remains among the most underappreciated stocks in the world.”
White added the upcoming iPhone lineup is positioning Apple to reach his $202 price target within 12 months. That price would value the Cupertino giant as over a trillion dollar company based on market capitalization, which is currently about $737 billion.
“Similar to the bottoming process in Apple during the summer of 2013 that drove a strong rally into the spring of 2015, we believe the bottom in the stock during May 2016 and the upcoming iPhone cycle is setting up Apple to reach our $202.00 price target over the next 12 months,” White said.
Read: Qualcomm Lawsuit Against Apple Wants iPhone Imports And Sales To Be Halted
Other analysts have predicted Apple could reach or surpass a trillion dollar market cap. In May, RCB Capital analyst Amit Daryanani said in a note to clients the iPhone 8 and Apple’s services business could send the company’s value above $1 trillion in 2018.
"We believe AAPL's current stock price creates an attractive entry point for investors to benefit from its ability to return to revenue and EPS growth in FY17," analyst Amit Daryanani wrote, according to CNBC. "AAPL has potential to achieve a $1.0 trillion dollar market cap and even surpass that over the next 12–18 months," he added.
The analyst gave a scenario of how that can happen:
"(1) higher revenue growth through FY18/19 (mid- to high-single-digit) driven by ASP [average selling price] tailwind (blended ASP ~ $800) and unit growth; (2) gross margins expanding by 20–30bps (services contribution offset by iPhone BOM ); (3) operating margins expanding by ~100bps via. SG&A controls; and (4) sustained buyback-driven tailwinds enabling low-teens EPS growth; and (5) repatriation tailwind (not baked into our scenario but could add upside to EPS)."
Meanwhile, UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said in March Apple could hit a $200 stock price if all goes well for the company over the next few years. Milunovich predicted a scenario in which Apple’s stock would spike by 40 percent by 2019.
“For Apple to hit $200, iPhone needs to continue to grow beyond F18, new product categories must be established, and buybacks should exceed $50bn per year, boosting the P/E to 17x," Milunovich wrote, according to Business Insider.
The analyst also predicted a separate, most likely scenario in which Apple's stock could be priced at $175 in two or three years.