Equity analysts initiate new ratings and share price targets for Apple

In a freshly issued research reports on Apple, Wall Street analysts are showing different price targets for the technology major. On Thursday, a research reports was published, in which FBR Capital analyst Daniel Ives initiated coverage on Apple with a price target of $185 and an Outperform rating. The price target shows a potential upside of 47% from where the stock is presently trading.

According to Ives, "While Apple remains a widely covered company from a sell-side perspective, we are throwing our hat in the ring with the unique approach of focusing more on Apple's software, which represents the 'crown jewel' embedded in its products/ services".

He added they eventually help it become the world's first $1 trillion company since mobile device hardware becomes gradually more commoditized.

Ives further said that they think that with the Apple Watch launch near this week, Apple attracts its customers by influencing the benefits of its closed software ecosystem, leading to greater acceptance of its devices and services.

TipRanks. com measures analysts' and bloggers' success rate on the basis of performance of their calls. According to it, analyst Daniel Ives has a 60.0% success rate and a total average return of 9.1%. Ives has a 1.3% average return when it comes to shares of Apple (AAPL), and has been ranked #548 out of 3573 analysts.

Maxim Group analyst Nehal Chokshi also put forward a research report on AAPL and initiated coverage with a $144 price target and a Hold rating. Apple shares last traded at $124.78, and Chokshi's price target indicates potential upside of about 15%.

According to Chokshi, their analysis shows that this retention rate is very low for carriers to leave AAPL's premium pricing terms. ?