Apple's New Stock Price Target At Citigroup Implies 20% Rally

The price target on Apple's stock was raised to $135 from $120 by Citigroup analyst Jim Suva, which implies a 20% rally from current levels. He indicated that most people know Apple is seeing stronger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales than initially expected. But his global field work suggests people are buying higher-priced, higher-memory versions of the smartphones than anticipated, which he said should drive higher average selling prices and margins, and therefore higher earnings. He raised his earnings-per-share forecast for the first quarter of 2015 to $2.67 from $2.52 and for the full-year to $8.44 to from $8.02. The stock was down 2.1% in afternoon trade Monday, but was still up 40% year to date, compared with an 11% gain in the S&P 500.