Lumentum Holdings (LITE +0.6%) seems to have scored an exclusive supply deal to provide key components for augmented reality and 3-D photography on the upcoming iPhone 8, according to an analyst.
Rosenblatt's Jun Zhang -- who's posting a lot of key opticals information of late including a China Mobile component tender and its effects -- says the deal covers the supply of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), a type of diode that at low power is used in optical mice and laser printers, but at higher power can be used as precise rangefinders and texture mappers.
Lumentum had said in its earnings report that after posting $5M in revenue it received orders for $200M in bookings for the next quarter, that it boosted production capacity by 30% and that one customer was responsible for most of the demand. That road leads to Apple, Zhang suggests.
Zhang had boosted Rosenblatt's price target on Lumentum earlier this month on the expectation that significant numbers of VCSEL lasers would appear in Apple products.
