Apple rises as Morgan Stanley calls it a 'clean' beat, boosts price target
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are significantly higher in early trading on Friday, after the tech giant posted what Morgan Stanley described as a "clean December [quarter] beat," resulting in the investment firm raising its price target.
Analyst Katy Huberty, who has an overweight rating on shares, raised her price target to $210, up from $200, noting that Apple is the firm's top pick this year as not only was the December quarter strong, but guidance for the next quarter highlighted the company's strength and "stickiness."
"Apple's December quarter was one of the cleanest quarters in recent memory as revenue, gross margin, and EPS all beat our above consensus forecast, with Mac and Services growth particularly strong," Huberty wrote in a note to clients. "When coupled with a stronger than anticipated March quarter guide despite difficult Y/Y comps and continued (but easing) supply constraints, tonight's results illustrate the strength and stability of Apple's product and services ecosystem, a clear differentiator in a more difficult market environment."
Apple shares are higher by nearly 4% to $165.36 in pre-market trading on Friday. 
The Cupertino, California-based Apple said it earned $2.10 a share on $123.95 billion in revenue, led by strength in the iPhone, which generated $71.6 billion in sales during the quarter. A consensus of Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn $1.89 a share on $118.4 billion in revenue during the quarter.
Services revenue rose to $19.5 billion in the quarter, up from $15.7 billion in the year-ago period. Also aiding the quarterly results was strength in the Mac and Wearables divisions, with Mac revenue coming in at $10.85 billion, compared to $8.68 billion in the year ago period.
Apple's Wearables unit, which includes the Apple Watch and AirPods, generated $14.7 billion in revenue during the period, up from $12.97 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
On the earnings call, neither Chief Executive Tim Cook nor Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri gave a figure for what kind of an impact supply chain matters had on the recently completed quarter. However, Maestri did say that Apple (AAPL) expects supply constraints to lessen during its current quarter, which ends in March. He also said the company expects to report "solid year-over-year revenue growth."
Huberty believes that March revenue will "land" at roughly $93.9 billion, noting a 3 point foreign exchange headwind sequentially, which would be "above seasonal strength" in the period, while adding that Apple is likely to launch the iPhone SE with 5G in the June quarter "to help support a strong F3Q quarter as well."
Earlier this month, Apple's (AAPL) Cook spoke to Texas Senator Ted Cruz over some antitrust bills that are being debated in the Senate, including one that would prohibit platforms from favoring their own products over others.