Apple Headed For $115 A Share As Its iPhone Sales Outpace Rival Samsung: Analyst

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to have moved ahead of archrival Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (KRX: 005930) in the race to increase smartphone sales, and that's got one analyst raising his estimate for the California company's share price.

Evercore analyst Rob Chira told clients in a research note this week that he expects Apple sold 12 percent more iPhones in the second quarter than it did in the same period last year. He said he expects Samsung to post only 6 percent sales growth.

Chira also raised his price target for Apple shares to $115, one of the highest for any analyst covering the stock. The stock was trading around $93.50 Thursday morning.

"We see Apple creating its own growth through uniquely innovative hardware and software with integrated services vs. a sea of otherwise commodity devices," Chira concluded.