Citi analysts maintained a Buy rating and $240 per share price target on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a note Thursday.
The analysts told investors that the "iPhone 15 launch catalyst is on."
"We continue to recommend our positive AAPL vs negative SWKS catalyst watch events going into iPhone 15 launch," they wrote. "AAPL stock has outperformed SWKS ~500bps relatively since early August."
They noted that the recent US supply chain discussions point to a strong replacement cycle potential in the iPhone 12 installed base, with there being "excitement around ~30% faster charging on upgraded USB-C vs Lightning port."
"US supply chain IP15 unit expectations remain ~85M (Citi 81M), however, the launch timing could move around depending on potential component manufacturing supply constraints," concluded the analysts.