Apple shares touch a fresh all-time high on Wednesday on upbeat quarterly sales

Shares of Apple Inc (AAPL) reached a new record high yesterday, supported by surprisingly strong quarterly sales, while also facilitating a move in the Dow Jones Industrial Average beyond the 22,000 level for the first time in history.

Apple shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on Wednesday. It has also been the steepest daily surge since February 1st. The stock went up 4.73% ($7.09) to $157.14, after touching an intraday high at $159.68 and also a fresh all-time high. In the week ended on July 30th the shares of the technological company lost 0.51% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first drop in the past four weeks, but yet, the smallest one since the week ended on April 9th. The stock has extended its advance to 5.65% so far during the current month, following a 3.27% surge in July. The latter has been the smallest monthly gain since October 2016. For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed company rose 10.03%.

Apples total revenue was reported to have increased to $45.4 billion during the third quarter ended on July 1st from $42.36 billion during the same period a year earlier. In comparison, the median analyst estimate had pointed to $44.9 billion in revenue.

International sales accounted for 61% of total revenue during the quarter. Revenue from emerging markets with the exception of China went up 18% year-on-year, while revenue generated in Greater China shrank for a sixth consecutive quarterly period.

Sales of Apples iPad rose 15% year-on-year during the latest three-month period, while a milestone of 1.2 billion iPhones sold was also reached.

The tech giant earned $1.67 per share during the third quarter up from $1.42 per share during the same period a year ago. In comparison, analysts, on average, had projected earnings of $1.86 per share.

“With revenue up 7 percent year-over-year, we’re happy to report our third consecutive quarter of accelerating growth and an all-time quarterly record for Services revenue”, CEO Tim Cook said, cited in the companys press release. “We hosted an incredibly successful Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and we’re very excited about the advances in iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS coming this fall.”

At least eight brokerage firms revised up their price target for Apples stock. Barclays turned out to be the most bullish, as it lifted its target for the stock by $23 to $146.

According to CNN Money, the 38 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $165.00, with a high estimate of $202.00 and a low estimate of $120.00. The median estimate is a 5.00% surge compared to the closing price of $157.14 on August 2nd.

The same media also reported that 27 out of 44 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 11 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Apple stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $157.47
R2 – $157.80
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $158.13
R4 (Long Breakout) – $159.11
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $160.27
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $160.75

S1 – $156.81
S2 – $156.48
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $156.15
S4 (Short Breakout) – $155.17
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $154.01
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $153.53

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

Central Pivot Point – $150.26
R1 – $153.23
R2 – $156.95
R3 – $159.92
R4 – $162.88

S1 – $146.54
S2 – $143.57
S3 – $139.85
S4 – $136.12