UBS Lauds Apple's Tim Cook, Advises Wall St. to Buy

In a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider on Wednesday, investment firm UBS analyst, Steve Milunovich praised Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook's vision for the future of the company.

UBS praises Tim Cook

In the recent Q3 earnings call, Cook envisioned iOS 8 becoming ubiquitous - carried by everyone in their iPhones, at work on their Macs and iPads, in their cars with CarPlay, in their living rooms on Apple TV, and worn on their wrists as the iWatch. Milunovich refers to this ubiquity as the "Applesphere," and he believes it is the key

to Apple's success in the future. He is particularly excited about iOS 8's "continuity" feature, which will allow users to seamlessly transition between iOS 8 devices - you start typing an email on your iPhone, walk into your office and continue it on your Mac without missing a beat, for example.

Milunovich wrote that "Cook has called Apple a mega-ecosystem that has grown 10x stronger in the last few years," and that he expects that growth to continue. He believes that the Applesphere is changing the face of the company: "The upside to the story from here may be less as a tech company and more as a luxury consumer franchise or lifestyle brand."

The analyst's optimism is part of what prompted UBS to raise Apple's target price to $115 last month. The firm predicts growing gross margins going into 2015, and a highly profitable period beginning this fall with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iOS 8, followed by the iWatch and several new iPad models, Macs and CarPlay.