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Investment bank Cowen turned positive on Apple ( AAPL ) stock on Wednesday, upgrading shares to outperform (the equivalent of a buy rating) from market perform (neutral). Cowen analyst Timothy Arcuri raised his price target on Apple stock to 135 from 125 on prospects for iPhone sales perking up, starting this fall with the upcoming iPhone 7 series. Apple stock was up 1.5%, near 109, in morning trading on the stock market today . Arcuri had been on the sidelines regarding Apple stock for about eight months before his change in sentiment. He says year-over-year comparisons and forward estimates for Apple have bottomed. The company is likely to see a rebound in smartphone sales this fall with the launch of the iPhone 7, as iPhone 6 owners decide to upgrade, he said in a research report. He also is excited about the prospects for Apple to switch to an OLED display from the current LCD screen next year. If Apple makes that move, it could skip its usual S cycle of incremental smartphone improvements and call the next model the iPhone 8 rather than the 7S. Some on Wall Street expect Apple to move to OLED in 2018, not 2017, but Arcuri is confident that Apple will accelerate its adoption of the technology. OLED, short for organic light-emitting diode, screens consume less power than LCD (liquid crystal display) screens and boast richer colors and darker blacks. OLED will give Apple greater freedom on product design because OLED screens are flexible. OLED displays could lead to “dreamy” new form factors for the iPhone, Arcuri said. Apple probably would have to source the OLED screens from rival Samsung in the near term, until other manufacturers can scale up production, he said. Other possible OLED suppliers include LG Display ( LPL ) and Japan Display, he said. One company benefiting from the speculation that Apple will move to OLED is Universal Display ( OLED ), which develops OLED technology for TVs and mobile devices. Shares of the Ewing, N.J.-based company were up 1.5%, near 53.50, morning trading. Meanwhile, Apple is finishing the design of the iPhone 7. That handset is believed to be waterproof and have a thinner, sleeker look. Apple is rumored to be eliminating the home button and the audio jack with the new design. The pressure-sensitive screen would take the place of the circular home button. People who want to use headphones with the iPhone 7 would have to use wireless Bluetooth headsets or wired headsets that plug into the multipurpose Lightning connector. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News