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All Eyes on Apple’s Product Announcement Event

It’s September, and you know what that means, it’s time for another Apple (AAPL) product announcement event. The tech giant’s grand product reveal will be held online on September 15.

Writing for Deutsche Bank, analyst Jeriel Ong was surprised by the assumption that new iPhones will be announced during the event as AAPL already stated on the latest conference call that the release could come “a few weeks later.” The analyst originally “interpreted that the iPhone delay would also mean delays for any typical September media event.”

Although reports imply that iPad, Watch and Services bundles will be the focus of the event rather than the iPhone, Ong doesn’t “confirm nor deny” based on his checks that “iPhone will not be discussed at the event.”

“Overall, we are dubious that iPhones would be announced so early as it would be a month or more before our expectations for when 5G iPhone sales could begin based on AAPL’s comments on their earnings call slightly more than a month ago. That being said, we could see the event next week as a teaser of sorts for an iPhone-focused event later in September or early in October,” Ong commented.

Even though the iPhones could come later than usual, Ong doesn’t believe the phones will be materially delayed, based on supply-chain related news. “Nikkei reported today that the first 5G iPhones will start production in mid-September, suggesting that a mid-October timeline is certainly on track,” Ong said.

Adding to the good news, Ong argues “iPad and Mac orders continue to be robust driven by learn from home/work from home trends, and we expect AAPL to report a stronger-than-seasonal iPad/Mac segment as backlog of product normalizes and AAPL observes a typical Fall ‘back-to-school’ trend that should bolster both segments.” He added, “In that context, a new iPad Air that captures features of the more expense iPad Pro could be a welcomed addition to the iPad family of products.”

All of this prompted Ong to leave his bullish call and $140 price target unchanged. This target conveys his confidence in AAPL’s ability to climb 21% higher in the next year. (To watch Ong’s track record, click here)

Looking at the consensus breakdown, the bulls reflect the majority. 25 Buys, 7 Holds and 3 Sells have been published in the last three months. Therefore, AAPL gets a Moderate Buy consensus rating. With an average price target of $119.51, the Street anticipates shares to stay range bound for now (See Apple stock-price forecast on TipRanks)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

Maya Sasson
Maya Sasson originally from San Francisco, California, is a financial blogger focusing on U.S. stocks as well as analyst activity. Before diving into the world of financial writing, she earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Tufts University, and began her career as a data analyst for a software company

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