Two steps forward, one step back; that’s the order of the day for tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Just yesterday, we found that it might have had a workaround for the Apple Watch import ban, but now, it’s landed another win, this time over the App Store. Investors, oddly, aren’t happy about this and sent Apple shares down nearly 2% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Epic Games—who most will know from the hotly popular game “Fortnite”—took its case against Apple to the Supreme Court, which turned Epic away at the door. More specifically, it refused to hear the antitrust challenge. That will prevent Epic from getting anywhere in its moves against Apple and will give Apple much more breathing room in how it runs the App Store. However, It didn’t go all Apple’s way, as Apple’s appeal to the Supreme Court over elements of the Epic Games decision would also go unheard.
Apple is the New Leader in Global Smartphone Shipments
As if that weren’t enough, one more fact came to light earlier today: Apple is now the world leader in global smartphone shipments. This is actually the first time that Apple managed to seize that crown, as it seized the top slot from Samsung. Samsung had held that number one slot for over a decade, reports noted, and this is a huge step. However, the data that put Apple on top is preliminary, noted its issuer, IDC. So, that could change in the coming weeks as adjustments are made to finalize the data. But if it’s that close, it’s still something of a win for Apple, even if the one and two slots end up flip-flopping.
What is the Fair Value of Apple?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 23 Buys, nine Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 34.97% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $203.35 per share implies 11.57% upside potential.
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