Analyst predicts iPhone 8 ‘super cycle’ will push AAPL towards 11% unit growth

Continuing the trend, another analyst today is out with his bullish expectations for Apple and the upcoming iPhone 8. As noted by CNBC, Nomura Instinet investor Jeffrey Kvaal has raised his target price for AAPL from $150 to $165 based on the expected iPhone 8 super cycle…

Kvaal predicts that Apple will sell 87 million iPhones during the first quarter of 2018, which begins October 1st of this year and runs through the holiday season. This quarter is generally Apple’s strongest quarter of the year because of the holiday demand and it coincides with the first full quarter of availability for the new iPhone each year.

Kvaal’s prediction for sales of 87 million iPhones is higher than Wall Street expectations of 82 million units. Furthermore, the analyst predicts Apple will sell 260 million iPhones in fiscal 2018, again higher than the rest of Wall Street at 239 million.

For comparison’s sake, Apple sold 78.3 million iPhones during the Q1 2017, so an increase to 87 million units would be nearly a 12 percent increase year-over-year.

In a research note sent to investors, Kvaal attributes the strong iPhone 8 super cycle to pent-up demand for a new model. He explains that Wall Street is “underestimating the upgrade demand” based on the large installed base of older iPhones.

Furthermore, Kvaal says that his analysis of trends in the App Store, as well as data from his recent Asia tour, indicates that the iPhone 8 super cycle will be significantly larger than what the rest of Wall Street anticipates.

Though Kvaal is incredibly bullish on AAPL and the iPhone 8, he has lowered the stock rating from “strong buy” to “buy.”

Analysts have been coming out in waves recently to share a nearly universally bullish opinion on Apple.

Recently, analysts at Citi increased their target price for AAPL from $140 to $160 based on iPhone 8 rumors, while Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities issued a note saying that Apple’s new iPhone 8 would significantly impact the supply chain this year.

Furthermore, Kate Huberty at Morgan Stanley recently stated that she doesn’t think Wall Street realizes the full potential of the upcoming iPhone 8. Finally, Gene Munster also recently voiced his thoughts on the iPhone 8 causing a “paradigm shift” because of Apple’s lead in augmented reality.