© Reuters UBS sees risk for Apple’s (AAPL) March quarter
UBS analysts maintained a Neutral rating and $190 per share price target on Apple (NASDAQ:) in a note Monday, saying they see risks for the iPhone maker’s March quarterly results related to the iPhone inventory build.
There were “soft demand trends” in the December quarter, with the possible iPhone inventory build a headwind for the company’s March quarter results, explained the analysts.
“We expect Apple to report Dec rev roughly $1B above (~1%) our $117.8B forecast (Consensus $118.0B) driven by 2-3M inventory build of iPhone units in China,” they wrote.
“The iPhone inventory build above sell-through supports slight EPS upside of $2.08 vs our $2.06 est and Consensus of $2.09,” they added.
While the better iPhone financial metrics in December are a “modest relief,” stated the analysts, the increased demand in China means the risk shifts to the March quarter, and as a result, UBS hasn’t changed its full-year forecast of 230 million units.