Evercore maintained its Outperform rating and $250 target on Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock after the company noted that chief operating officer Jeff Williams would leave the company and announced a replacement.
“Bears may point to a second c-suite departure as confirmation of challenges at Apple, but we think this is a long-planned transition and quickly appointing an internal hire speaks to the depth of Apple’s bench,” said analysts led by Amit Daryanani.
On Tuesday, the U.S. tech giant said that Sabih Khan, Apple’s current senior vice president of operations, will transition to the COO role later this month. Williams will stay with the company to oversee Apple’s design team, Apple Watch and its health initiatives.
Williams plans to retire later this year.
The analysts noted that Khan has been working at Apple since 1995 and is well respected within the company, which should ensure an orderly transition. “Apple’s supply chain management remains an underappreciated part of the company’s success, so we think the continuity with the internal hire is important for maintaining this advantage,” said Daryanani and his team.