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Some Wall Street analysts are griping that Apple‘s (AAPL) latest event was a surprise-free affair with only minor tweaks to its current products. Still, Apple stock climbed on Tuesday.
At the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple showcased features of its upcoming operating systems for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. It also unveiled a second-generation Mac processor, M2, which will be available next month in two new laptops, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
“The biggest surprises to us from WWDC were the silences,” Needham analyst Laura Martin said in a note to clients.
During its “nearly 2-hour infomercial,” Apple said nothing about Apple TV, including a possible NFL sports deal, and made no mention of its recently trademarked mixed-reality operating system, RealityOS, she said. Nevertheless, Martin rates Apple stock as buy with a price target of 170.
On the stock market today, Apple stock increased 1.8% to close at 148.71. On Monday, Apple stock advanced 0.5% to 146.14.
Barclays analyst Tim Long reiterated his equal weight, or neutral, rating on Apple stock. In his note to clients, he said Apple announced “nothing major” at WWDC. He said the “incremental platform enhancements” detailed at the event won’t have a significant near-term earnings impact.
The next catalyst for Apple stock will be the introduction of the iPhone 14 this fall, he said.
Apple’s WWDC presentation was “likely viewed as disappointing for those making big predictions ahead of the event,” said KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel. Those predictions included hints about an upcoming mixed-reality headset and a possible NFL Sunday Ticket announcement, he added.
“Overall, we do not view the event as a needle-mover to Apple,” Nispel said in a note. He called the event “in line with expectations.” KeyBanc rates Apple stock as overweight, or buy.
UBS analyst David Vogt expressed surprise at no mention of augmented reality and virtual reality at the event.
“While an AR/VR hardware product was not expected, the market expected Apple to introduce a new software development environment ahead of a hardware launch later this year/early 2023,” Vogt said in a note.
He added, “Despite the modest disappointment, on the margin, Apple continued to roll out features that we believe improve ‘usability’ and should support the stickiness of the ecosystem.”
Vogt maintained his buy rating on Apple stock with a price target of 185.
A key focus for Apple at its WWDC keynote was iOS 16, the company’s latest smartphone operating system. It includes new personalization options for the lock screen and updates to the Messages, Wallet and Maps apps. It will be available this fall.
Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
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