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Here's Why Apple (AAPL) Stock Is Recovering Today

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Shares of Apple (AAPL - Free Report) surged nearly 2% higher in early morning trading Monday, defying broader market trends that sent major indexes lower—and helping erase some of the tech giant’s post-earnings losses.

A market-wide sell-off that started on Friday extended into Monday morning, evidenced by continued losses in the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite. Despite strong corporate earnings growth throughout many sectors, concerns over inflation risks have led to rapidly-rising interest rates—a trend that typically lowers stocks.

Apple felt this sell-off on Friday, but the company also slumped thanks to concerning sales figures from its special-edition iPhone X. The Cupertino, California-based behemoth reported fiscal first-quarter results on Thursday afternoon, posting total iPhone unit sales of 77.316 million.

Unit sales in the quarter, which was the first full period of iPhone X sales, slumped about 1% year-over-year and missed our consensus estimate by nearly 2.5 million (also read: Apple's First-Quarter iPhone Sales Drop 1%, Miss Estimates).

Apple shares shed nearly 5% on Friday, adding to a two-week slump that has watched the stock tumble about 10%. Nevertheless, the tech titan began its recovery today on the back of improved analyst sentiment and strong news related to one of its budding business segments.

Analysts from Bank of America raised their price target for Apple (AAPL - Free Report) to $152 per share from $143 per share on Friday. That call still represents a decent slump from the $163 level that the stock is currently trading at, but it is perhaps a positive indicator that even some bearish analysts are warming up to Apple right now.

Moreover, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday morning that Apple Music will soon surpass rival music streaming company Spotify for most paid subscribers in the United States. According to the report, Apple Music is currently growing at a rate of 5% per month in the U.S., outpacing Spotify’s 2% growth rate.

Spotify is expected to begin public trading in a soft IPO within the next two months. The Swedish company recently said that it has about 70 million paid subscribers around the world, while Apple apparently told the WSJ that it has about 36 million users. Neither company discloses country-level figures.

Still, the report is a positive sign for Apple, as investors have been encouraging the company to explore new revenue streams for years. While Apple’s iPhone sales figures were disappointing last week, those results could start to mean a little less if Apple Music can turn into a serious music industry powerhouse.

Want more analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeneyon Twitter!

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