Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the world’s most celebrated tech giant, and for good reason. Apple is a retail success and it dominates the high-end market of smartphone and tablet users. The stock is currently trading at $111.79 per share (+0.17%) as at October 14, 2015. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $92 on the low end and $134.54 on the high end. At its current share price, Apple has a market capitalization of $637.51 billion. The company’s price/earnings ratio is 12.93 and the EPS is 8.65.

For binary trading analysts, it is obvious that the company has tremendous upside potential, as evidenced by the 1-year price target estimate of $147.37. The high target price for Apple is $200.00. On a scale of 1.0 to 5.0 where 1 is a strong buy and 5.0 is a sell, Apple is listed at 1.9. When it comes to upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc has recently been upgraded by Wells Fargo from Market Perform to Outperform. Prior to that it was downgraded by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch from a buy to a neutral rating, and by Cowen from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. Global economic weakness and anxiety over a Fed rate hike has made many multinational companies a little antsy.

Investors Welcome India Expansion

The fact of the matter is that Apple Stores generate more per square foot than any other land-based operation for similar products. The reason being: Apple is expensive, and as a high-end brand with luxury items it can generate high profits off individual items. When compared to other luxury retailers like Tiffany’s, Apple Stores are noticeably superior and this bodes well for the company’s share price. Apple is already well established in developed countries, but the costs of its products are largely prohibitive in EM countries like China and India. Fortunately, Apple Inc is already operational in China and news of a high-end Apple Store in India has investors plenty excited.

The manner in which Apple has orchestrated its entry into India is particularly exciting: It is teaming up with Tata and the retail division Croma. The Apple Stores will be stores within stores, but Apple customers will instantly recognize the traditional look and feel of the Apple Stores in India. There remains a degree of uncertainty as to why Apple has opted for stores within stores as opposed to its traditional model. It all boils down to prohibitive rules of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in India. Retail investments in the country are governed by strict rules with all sorts of bureaucratic gobbledygook. For the Apple stock to continue on its current growth trajectory it is important that global expansion continues. The move to India is a step in the right direction.

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