The addition of a mobile payments service to Apple Inc's
next iPhone could help to boost sales of the larger-screen phones and claw back
market share lost to mobiles running on Google Inc's Android platform. Apple
shares rose as much as 1.3 percent on Wednesday, a day after the launch of the
iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch - the first new product introduced by Chief
Executive Tim Cook.
At least six brokerages raised their price target on Apple's
stock by as much as $16 to a high of $116, but there was also a rare downgrade
to the stock. Many on Wall Street hailed Apple Pay - the company's new wireless
payment . It will allow iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users to pay for a burger at McDonald's
Corp or groceries at Whole Foods Market Inc at the tap of a
button, using their American Express Co, Visa Inc or Mastercard Inc bank
cards.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Motorola Mobility and
others include similar wireless technology in many Android smartphones. But
with payment systems such as Google's Wallet failing to catch on, the
technology is not standard in handsets.
Andy Hargreaves, analyst at Pacific Crest, said growth
potential from the iPhone 6 was largely priced into Apple's shares. He cut his
rating to "sector perform" from "outperform", becoming the
first analyst since May to downgrade the stock.
Apple Watch, the company's first new product since the iPad,
is tethered to the iPhone 6 models. Starting at $349, it will receive phone
calls and messages, play music and serve as a digital wallet to pay for goods. The
watch has received mixed reactions. Fashion commentators like its
clean aesthetic, while some tech writers pointed out Apple's silence over
battery life.
Apple shares were up slightly at $98.18 in morning trading.
They closed down 0.38 percent on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.
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