Apple Stock Price Forecast: BofA and Morgan Stanley Expect Third-Quarter Earnings to Top Wall Street Consensus, Can Share Price Hit New High?

TradingKey - On July 24, Eastern Time, Apple ( AAPL) stock price once again approached its all-time high of $344.99. Apple is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings on July 30. BofA expects the quarterly results to beat Wall Street consensus estimates.

BofA forecasts Apple's revenue to reach $109 billion and EPS to hit $1.89, both slightly higher than the Wall Street consensus of $108 billion and $1.87 per share. Based on this, Apple's year-over-year revenue growth is estimated at 16%, near the upper end of the company's revenue guidance range of 14% to 17%.

The firm noted that this round of growth is primarily driven by iPhone sales, expecting iPhone revenue to increase by over 20% year-over-year this quarter, while services revenue maintains double-digit growth. The overall gross margin is estimated at 48.2%, right in the middle of Apple's guidance range of 47.5% to 48.5%. It maintained a "Buy" rating on Apple with a price target of $380.

Morgan Stanley also expects Apple's results to slightly beat market expectations. While the guidance for the next quarter suggests potential increases in revenue and EPS, margins may fall below the market expectation of 47.4% due to iPhone shipment volumes, price hikes, and cost inflation. Morgan Stanley remains optimistic about Apple over the next 12 months, raising its price target from $360 to $364 and maintaining an "Overweight" rating.

The latest industry report from Counterpoint Research shows that with the mass production of Apple's first foldable iPhone, the global foldable phone panel market will experience a strong recovery in 2026. Annual panel shipments are projected to surge by 46% year-over-year, and industry revenue is expected to grow by nearly 50%, with Apple's new device serving as the core driver of this growth.

In terms of panel procurement share by end-brands, a new tri-polar landscape consisting of Samsung, Apple, and Huawei has officially formed. Samsung's proprietary Z series leads the market with a 31% share; Apple's share of foldable panel procurement reached 29%, surpassing Huawei's 24% to become the world's second-largest foldable panel buyer, completely reshaping the previous Samsung-Huawei duopoly.

Apple 2-hour stock chart, Source: TradingView

Looking at the Apple stock chart, after experiencing a rapid decline in mid-to-late June, the price hit a local low ($273.77) on June 25, followed by a textbook V-shaped reversal. It staged a powerful rally from the bottom, reaching an intraday high of $334.99 on July 21, representing a cumulative gain of up to 22.4%. This rapid surge erased all of June's losses in just four weeks, demonstrating strong bullish momentum.

The stock price pulled back to retest the cluster of moving averages below on July 22-23, but the correction was highly limited and failed to break below the Fibonacci 0.236 level ($320.54), subsequently finding buying support to move higher again.

Currently, all moving averages point upward, with a well-maintained bullish alignment. The short-term MA5, MA10, and MA20 lines provide strong pullback support in the 326-328 range.

Looking at the Fibonacci retracement levels, if the price breaks through the initial resistance at the previous high of $334.99, it is poised to test $344.65, representing an approximate 3% upside from current levels. The rebound could extend to the psychological $350 to $354 range.

If the attempt to reach a new high fails and forms a "double top" pattern, it could trigger a pullback to the Fibonacci 0.236 level ($320.54) to seek support. If this level fails to hold, the price will further test the Fibonacci 0.382 level ($311.60).