Apple shares gain for a fourth straight session on Thursday, company to upgrade front camera in this year’s iPhone models, analyst says

According to a report by noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the tech company intends to upgrade the front camera in this years iPhone models to 12 megapixels from 7 megapixels. The camera will also be modified from the current 4-element lens to a 5-element lens component.

Apple shares closed higher for a fourth consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Thursday. The stock went up 0.36% ($0.73) to $203.86, after touching an intraday high at $204.18, or a price level not seen since November 9th ($206.01).

Shares of Apple Inc have added 29.24% to their value so far in 2019 compared with a 15.88% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Apple’s stock went down 6.79%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

Kuo said that the 6.5-inch and the 5.8-inch OLED iPhones would feature the rumored triple-camera system, which will include a new super-wide 12-megapixel lens. That ultra-wide lens is to be produced exclusively by Sony Corp.

At the same time, this years successor to the 6.1-inch iPhone XR will feature a dual-camera system.

The analyst also pointed out that the super-wide and front camera lenses would be coated in black so that they could blend in more effectively with the surrounding bezel.

According to Kuos report, the new front camera is to be featured on all three new iPhone models, which are expected to be officially announced in the fall.

According to CNN Money, the 32 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $198.50, with a high estimate of $245.00 and a low estimate of $140.00. The median estimate represents a 2.63% downside compared to the closing price of $203.86 on April 18th.

The same media also reported that 18 out of 39 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while other 18 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Apple Inc (AAPL) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $199.31
R1 – $202.41
R2 – $205.95
R3 – $209.05
R4 – $212.15

S1 – $195.77
S2 – $192.67
S3 – $189.13
S4 – $185.59