Different Ideas on the Future of Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock

With Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) set to report results next week, analysts are beginning to discuss the future of the stock including the direction in which they believe it is headed.

Thus far in 2014, Apple stock has been somewhat of a disappointment, down three percent. Of course, things are much better than they were in late June of last year when the stock hit its low of $388. That being said, analysts and investors want to see things moving in the right direction and right now this simply isn’t happening.

Soc. Gen. downgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to a hold, putting them in rare company. Their point is simple: the global handset market was strong during the fourth quarter of 2014, but they believe that iPhone sales could check in below expectations. Obviously, this is would a big blow to the company being that they recently pushed two new products to the market.

Susquehanna has an entirely different view on where Apple stands right now and what to look forward to in 2014. In fact, they are calling Cupertino their top idea for 2014. This is saying a lot, being that the last 12 months have been anything but smooth sailing for the tech giant.

Susquehanna analysts say there is little question that the iPhone 5s has been a success. Also, they believe the company will get another boost when the iPhone 6 is released in July. They also believe that the stock, priced the way it is right now, is attractively valued.

This leads to one very big question: who is right and who is wrong? You have Soc. Gen. on one side of the argument and Susquehanna on the other. Both keep close tabs on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), but only one can be right in terms of what the future holds.

Fortunately, we are not going to have to wait too long for a big piece of the puzzle to come into place. Next week, Apple is reporting results and we will be able to see exactly what is going on. This will have some sort of impact on the company, as well as investors, either in a negative or positive manner.

What side of the fence are you sitting on? Do you agree with Soc. Gen. or Susquehanna? If you don’t have an answer now there is a good chance you will be the end of next week.