NEW YORK, April 20, 2026, 12:41 PM EDT
Apple shares climbed Monday, with Morgan Stanley telling clients to stick with the stock heading into the April 30 earnings report, arguing the results might put some of the current concerns to rest. BNP Paribas, meanwhile, bumped up Apple on Friday but downgraded Qualcomm—cranking up the debate among analysts over which names are best positioned to handle pricier smartphone memory.
The calendar puts Apple’s fiscal Q2 numbers on deck for April 30. Investors are keyed in on whether pricier memory chips will take a toll, while iPhone, Mac, and Services sales remain steady. Morgan Stanley thinks a revenue beat could shift sentiment—if Apple also manages to reassure on margins.
At 12:26 p.m. EDT, Apple traded 0.8% higher at $272.49. Qualcomm gained 1.1%, hitting $137.67. Nvidia and Microsoft both slipped roughly 1%. Apple managed to hold up stronger than a few other megacaps around midday.
Erik Woodring, analyst at Morgan Stanley, is looking for March-quarter revenue and EPS to edge past consensus by 1% to 2%. Looking ahead to the June period, the bank’s numbers sit roughly 5% above the Street for revenue, but its gross margin forecast trails consensus by 1.7 percentage points—a gap that leaves EPS close to in line.
Woodring stuck with his overweight call and a $315 target, grounding it in his fiscal 2027 earnings estimate of $9.76 per share—roughly 5% north of consensus. “We see a path to $300 for Apple shares by this September,” he said, flagging stronger earnings revisions and Apple’s cash machine as rivals in big tech ramp up capex. Investing.com
On Friday, BNP Paribas analyst David O’Connor bumped Apple up to outperform from neutral and took his price target to $300. O’Connor pointed out that higher memory prices will likely weigh more on demand for cheaper smartphones, but Apple typically secures the best deals and can use that to pick up market share.
Elsewhere, the analyst took a tougher stance on Qualcomm, downgrading shares to neutral from outperform and hacking the price target down to $120 from $180. O’Connor flagged persistent trouble in the smartphone market, noting “no end in sight for smartphone woes” and not much hope for Qualcomm in the near future. TipRanks
Apple comes off a big quarter, having posted all-time high revenue of $143.8 billion and earnings per share at $2.84 in January. Looking ahead, the company guided for March-quarter sales growth in the 13% to 16% range. CEO Tim Cook called demand for the latest iPhones “staggering” in comments to Reuters. apple.com
Another date sits right after earnings: Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, is set for June 8-12. According to Morgan Stanley, expectations remain muted for Siri and other software changes—a setup that could create a sentiment boost if Apple delivers surprises.
Still, there’s no straight shot here. Apple has kept its caution flag raised over pricier memory chips, and Morgan Stanley isn’t dropping its guard on the margin front—softer profits could show up even on stronger sales. Should component costs drag on, or if executives adopt a more reserved tone on pricing or supply, that $300 target starts to look less certain.
