Man Who Said Apple Will Run to $2 Trillion Now Calls for This to Happen

Tech investor Gene Munster is the man who successfully called for tech giant Apple to run to $2 trillion. He now has a new projection and is calling for the iPhone maker to head to $3 trillion.

Munster recently told CNBC that Apple has a path to $200 per share. “It needs to be anchored in earnings. That’s the powerful piece about the Apple story,” he said.

Munster, who co-founded venture capital firm Loup Ventures, has even called for Apple to be the best performer among FAANG stocks next year.

Apple was the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market cap this past August, which Munster had predicted would happen back last January. He had said the that Apple would trade 50% higher.

On Thursday Apple hit $133 per share and was valued at almost $2.3 trillion.

Munster said to CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he believes the California-based company can realistically reach $200 per share. That would put its market cap over $3 trillion.

“It needs to be anchored in earnings. That’s the powerful piece about the Apple story,” said Munster, basing his prediction on Apple trading at a price-to-earnings ratio, or multiple, of 35 for 2022 earnings estimates.

“It’s a year out there but I’m fast-forwarding the conversation to the middle and back half of next year, and we’ll be talking about 2022 at that point. If the market can sustain these 35 multiples — you know, we’re not talking about an Amazon-like multiple here — I think that that path is there,” Munster explained.

Munster believes the larger adoption of remote work spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic could help Apple head higher.

“This is generally thought of as a play on iPhone, a 5G play. That’s good. That will impact the numbers in a positive way, but this acceleration of digital transformation, I think it’s powerful,” Munster said. “People working from anywhere are going to be arming up in the next 12 to 24 months, buying more Macs, iPads, services.”

He also believes that Apple could leverage its hardware business into a service, such as buying a Mac on a subscription. “We believe that that’s coming, and more talk about autos is a big opportunity for Apple’s multiple,” Munster said, alluding to reports about Apple potentially making an electric car in a few years.

He continued, “I think for 2021, the performance is going to come again from Apple. It may seem tone deaf for a company to lead FAANG for three straight years, but I think that in fact will happen. I think this has a track to $200 [per share].”

Apple shares have soared roughly 81% this year.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.