(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.'s first batch of 5G-enabled iPhones will “open up the floodgates” on device upgrades, Wedbush Securities Inc. predicted, awarding the company's stock with a new Street-high price target.
Shares of Apple rose as much as 1.1% and were on track for a record-high close.
About 350 million iPhones within the Cupertino, California-based company's 900 million installed user base are currently in the window of an upgrade opportunity, analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients on Monday. Apple's first 5G-enabled phones are expected to be released in September.
The analyst reiterated his outperform rating, while lifting his price target to $350 a share from $325, the highest among 49 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and indicating 25% upside from Friday's closing price.
2019 has been Tim Cook's “finest hour,” Ives wrote, praising the chief executive's navigation of China growth struggles, while settling the firm's long standing lawsuit with Qualcomm Inc. and bringing to market the iPhone 11. The “historic” year will serve as a launch pad for 2020 to be the “year of an iPhone supercycle,” he added.
--With assistance from Ryan Vlastelica.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Morwenna Coniam
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