Analyst Highlights Seven Apple iPhone 6 Suppliers to Buy

June 20, 2014 by Jon C. Ogg

iPhone_5_FrontBackWith a late fall delivery expected for the new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 6, the Apple nation awaits breathlessly for the new device and will be lining up to get it. They are not the only ones excited about the launch.

Top suppliers are getting, and will continue to get, gigantic orders from the iconic Silicon Valley company to produce components for the eagerly awaited device. In fact, suppliers in the Far East gearing up for the iPhone 6 are reportedly anticipating 20% growth from last year’s iPhone 5s launch, setting the stage for the biggest iPhone debut yet.

In a “chip-clip” piece from Oppenheimer, we found links to Digitimes, AppleInsider and other publications that gave stunning projections on the massive scale of the iPhone 6 orders. In fact, the iPhone 6 could have a bill of materials $20 to $30 per phone higher than the current iPhone 5s, largely due to the expectation of a larger display and improved camera. Improvements are being added to drive sales and product excitement.

We dug through the data looking for some of the companies that are expecting some of these massive orders.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) makes the list. Apple’s move to 64-bit technology has “raised the stakes” in the high-end smartphone and tablet markets. Sixty-four-bit chips are faster and more powerful. This totally revs up the performance of the new phones, and ARM is getting rave reviews for its products. There is also a very solid chance the company will be counted on again by Apple for the iPhone 6. Investors are paid a small 0.7% dividend. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is $53.17. ARM closed Thursday at $47.79 a share.

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Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) may be poised for a big second half of the year as bandwidth and latency needs in the Internet are pressing the limits of what is currently available. Big demand for the company’s Gorilla Glass, which Apple uses, is up as much as 30% year-over year as new smartphones hit the market.

Corning is well known for being a leading manufacturer of glass substrates for LCDs in consumer electronics. The company generates close to 30% of its revenue from its Optical Communication segment. In 2013, that division’s revenue grew 9.2% to reach $2.3 billion. Investors are paid a 1.9% dividend. The consensus price target is $22. Corning closed Tuesday at $21.67.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) could be a contender, although the stock has been volatile as chatter has flown around Wall Street concerning when-and-if it is a big supplier. Apple invested $578 million to help finance the construction of a large-scale plant with specialty materials manufacturer that many believe could lead Apple to replace Gorilla Glass with sapphire in future products. The consensus price target is $20.60. Shares closed Thursday trading at $18.16.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) is the ultimate outsourcing stock for technology and more. The company first manufactured casings for the iPhone 5 a couple of years ago. A year later, it strengthened its relationship with Apple by supplying the plastic casing for the iPhone 5c and the metal exteriors of the iPhone 5s. Now, the company looks well on its way to benefit from the upcoming iPhone 6. Investors are paid a 1.6% dividend. The consensus price target is $20.13. Jabil Circuit shares closed Thursday at $20.63.

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Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) bought Elpida last year and this has helped its buy its way into the iPhone. Elpida had supplied memory for the iPhone 5, and it looks like it is increasingly becoming a close Apple partner with the latest win. Micron is also seeing solid sales of its chips for solid-state drives, and this has led to a boost in production of NAND chips.

The acquisition of Elpida has helped Micron strengthen its position in the DRAM market, and the results have been incredible as the stock has doubled in less than a year. The consensus price target is $34.56. Micron ended Thursday at $31.81.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of flash memory storage drives. The burgeoning demand for SanDisk’s products and the increase in price of its micro SD cards contributed to the rise in margins. Most mobile phone manufacturers now provide a card slot in their devices, leading to increased demand for memory cards. Customers looking to store more data have led to the growth of micro SD cards, pushing up demand in the process.

The alliance with Apple, which just placed major NAND flash orders with SanDisk, is just increasing the odds the company will continue to among the leaders dominating flash memory storage. Investors are paid a 1.5% dividend. The consensus price target is $108.82. SanDisk closed Thursday at $102.20.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) designs, develops, manufactures and markets digital telecommunications products and services. It has a long relationship with Apple, and that should remain the case for now. One of the most important pieces of silicon in a cell phone, the baseband chip, or baseband processor, manages all on-board radio functions.

Currently, Qualcomm supplies Apple with baseband processors used in both the iPhone and iPad product lineups. The chip giant pays investors a 2.1% dividend. The consensus price target is $89.34. Shares closed Thursday at $79.75.

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The iPhone 6 will clearly be another new defining chapter for Apple. After a tremendous run in the stock, a sidewise move could be in store between now and the fall introduction of the highly anticipated smartphone. One thing is for sure, the skeptics who were writing off Apple a year ago have a huge comeuppance, and likely will not be heard from, or listened to for a while.

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