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Wall Street is mostly finding the positive in Apple ‘s product launch event. The technology giant on Tuesday unveiled the iPhone 15 and an Apple Watch and rolled out a slew of updates widely anticipated by analysts, with one major exception: Apple implemented a $100 increase for Pro Max iterations by eliminating the previous 128 GB Pro Max model. “Apple’s new product announcements were remarkably in line with expectations, and largely evolutionary,” said Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi. He highlighted the enhanced photo capabilities on Pro models and called the new double tap feature the most notable upgrade to the Apple Watch. Canaccord Genuity’s Michael Walkley expects the improved lineup to fuel healthy holiday sales, while new features and promotional trade-in offers should incentivize customers to upgrade. Pro design improvements should also support a continued shift toward higher-end models, said Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng. AAPL 1D mountain Apple shares fall a day after launch event “We think the event was largely as expected — offering incremental updates with few surprises,” said Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers in a Tuesday note. The impact of price hikes Limited price increases from Apple warranted mixed reviews from Wall Street. Many analysts expected hikes around $100 and $200 for the beefed up Pro and Pro Max iterations. Apple essentially delivered a $100 price hike on the Pro Max by doing away with the lower storage option. Bernstein’s Sacconaghi forecasts that eliminating the lower storage model could lift average selling prices by $50 this cycle. The Pro Max accounts for 20% to 25% of total iPhones sold, suggesting a $10 to $12 increase in price for the iPhone overall, he said. Flat pricing on the other models represents a positive for the company that should help lift units in a difficult microenvironment, said Citi analyst Atif Malik. He noted that the hike on the Pro Max skewed to the low end of the Wall Street firm’s expectation range. Some analysts did offer concerns about the lack of more widespread price increases. Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani regarded the event as “mildly disappointing” for bulls hoping for a Pro price increase. A hike could have offset some headwinds from Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro launch, he said. Coupled with rising component costs, UBS analyst David Vogt argued that upgraded specs on the Pro models could lead to higher materials expenses that pressure the product’s contribution to margins. The lack of increases on a “like-for-like basis” also heightens the risk of revenue shortfall on the margin. “While pricing was not effectively raised, the increase in the starting price for the Pro Max and the widening of the price differential to other models in the lineup could drive negative mix implications relative to prior years, which will be worth monitoring through early consumer demand indications,” said JPMorgan’s Samik Chatterjee. While the event boosted Erik Woodring’s bullish outlook on the technology giant for fiscal year 2024, the analyst cut the Morgan Stanley’s shipment forecast by 4.5 million units due to China concerns. “In our view, the biggest takeaway is that Apple continues to synthetically drive iPhone ASPs higher, despite no change to like-for-like pricing, which helps to offset the risk to iPhone shipments in China that we now embed in our model,” he said. Woodring maintained his overweight rating but cautioned against being “aggressive buyers” of the stock until it comes down to the $160 to $170 range. Meanwhile, Sacconaghi noted that given the historical three-month performance of shares, the risk-reward looks “neutral to modestly negative.” In trading Wednesday, Apple shares were down less than 1%. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting
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