12:20 AM EDT, 04/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We hold our 12-month target at $210 on P/E of 29x our CY 25 EPS of $7.25, above peers. We keep our FY 24 (Sep.) EPS at $6.56 and FY 25 at $7.10. Ahead of Mar-Q results expected on May 2, we see EPS of $1.51 on revenue of $90.6B (-4% Y/Y). Investors will likely focus on China results, Services growth, and capital allocation updates. On China, we expect a 15% decline, worse than expected, but we think was largely factored into the lower revised guidance back in February, while revenue across other geographies will be stable. We think Services growth of 11% should be expected but see upside to consensus views given pricing increases on select offerings in recent months. We also expect AAPL to announce a new $90B buyback and 3% dividend hike. We anticipate AAPL's gross margin to expand to over 46% but are wary of rising component costs looking ahead, while FCF remains on pace to generate over $100B in FY 24. We don't expect insights surrounding AI initiatives until AAPL holds its Developer's Conference on June 10.