Apple Inc. shares are up 0.8% in Thursday morning trading following a pair of upbeat reports from analysts. Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty is optimistic about Apple’s prospects in China, where sales rose 12% in the latest quarter after posting a decline in the prior quarter. She thinks Apple is “just turning the corner in China” and predicts that the company will “meaningfully accelerate” growth there in the next few quarters. “We believe that a larger base of aged iPhones and accelerating switchers, combined with the recent launch of iPhone 8/X, means the iPhone’s best days in China are still ahead,” she wrote. Chinese consumers are increasingly opting for large-screen iPhones, according to Morgan Stanley. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson also expressed optimism about Apple’s trajectory in a note to clients on Thursday, suggesting that the company was on track for a “super-long cycle” of device upgrades. Apple’s stock is up 47% so far in 2017, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 22%.
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