ISI Group Reiterates Strong Buy Rating on Apple Following Quarter Results Report

In a report published Wednesday, ISI Group analyst Brian Marshall reiterated a Strong Buy rating and $600.00 price target on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).

In the report, ISI Group noted, “In the 8 quarters leading up to AAPL's June quarter report in 2012, AAPL had beaten consensus quarterly EPS estimates by ~20% on average and it was not hard to give the company the benefit of the doubt ahead of the iPhone 5 launch.Despite two significant hardware advancements (e.g., LTE connectivity and a slightly larger display), iPhone 5 adoption has not been quite as robust as many hoped. In part, this is due to the need for an even larger screen. However, we also believe a lack of software enhancements (e.g., stale user interface [UI], Maps and Siri disappointments, etc.) have been responsible for Android closing the user experience gap. While the iPhone 5S could be another disappointment (assuming no change in screen size), we believe AAPL's iOS7 ‘extreme makeover' could satisfy the demand for a fresher UI and give AAPL's traditionally loyal installed base enough reason to wait for a larger-display iPhone model.”

Apple closed on Tuesday at $418.99.