Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), one of the leading firms in several technologies from cloud to mobile devices, may have staved off some antitrust suits in the European Union thanks to a move to let competitors check out a major piece of its technology. Investors, however, might have preferred the lawsuit route as Apple was only fractionally higher in Tuesday afternoon’s trading. Apple made the offer to EU antitrust authorities only recently and will allow competitors to get in on its tap-and-go version of mobile payments.
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Other users previously had difficulty working with Apple’s line of Near-Field Communications (NFC) mobile payments, and that made it nearly impossible to build competing platforms that would actually work on Apple devices. With Apple opening up access to the tap-and-go systems, it will become a lot easier for competitors to get into the field. That should also satisfy EU regulators, which would likely prevent future trials and possible fines.
Not Just Apple’s Mobile Payments Seeing Changes
While this was a change that would open up some of Apple’s walled garden to potential customers, it wasn’t the only change Apple made recently. Apple also modified its iTunes Store app, which gave it a look better suited to an all-around streaming hub. In fact, the app now redirects those who want to buy films or television episodes to the Apple TV storefront. This is suggested to be part of a larger plan that will see Apple TV used to stream not only films and television shows but also music, making it, ultimately, a complete streaming platform. That would make it unique in the field and potentially give it leverage against its various competitors.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 25 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 33.5% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $202.32 per share implies 4.59% upside potential.
