Morgan Stanley analysts believe that Apple’s earnings will exceed Wall Street expectations

Ahead of Apple’s earnings report for the fourth quarter, Morgan Stanley analysts confirmed the “overweight” rating on the company’s stock and a target price of $177 per share.

It’s expected that the technological giant will exceed Wall Street analysts expectations for the previous quarter ended in September and will focus its efforts on the following quarter report in December. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated Apple’s potential results of the previous quarter, as well as the next quarter, higher than Wall Street by 2-4%.

Moreover, Morgan Stanley analysts suggest that the company’s earnings report will have a positive impact on Apple’s shares, given that institutional investors reduced the stock’s value by 125 basis points. According to the analysts, investors will continue to view Apple as a so-called “flight to quality” and more of a defensive outperformer in the late market cycle. These characteristics took a major role in the company's earnings outlook and assessment of its current rating.