Apple: Seeing Big iPhone Sales, Analysts Psyched On Dec Qtr
Almost every quarter, estimates for Apple increase as earnings day draws near – the company is due to report results on January 24 – and this one is no exception.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk today hiked his estimates and price target for the company, based on ambitious new forecast of 35 million iPhones sold in the fiscal first quarter ended December. That move followed yesterday’s news that Verizon sold 4.2 million iPhones in the quarter, more than most analysts had expected.
Turns out, though, that Piecyk is not the only analyst who is waxing bullish on Apple this morning.
- Janney Capital analyst Bill Choi lifted his iPhone shipment forecast for the quarter to 31.5 million from 28 million, while keeping his projections for 13.1 million iPads gadgets and 4.7 million Macs. He now sees revenues of $39.8 billion for the quarter, up from $37.7 billion, with profits of $10.18, up from $9.36. His price target moves up to $515, from $495. For FY 2012, he goes to $36.43 a share, from $35.27; for FY 2013, he nomw sees $39.48, up from $38.01.
- Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves writes today that supply checks suggest “potential upside” to his iPhone unit estimates for both the December and March quarters. He sees 34 million units for the December quarter, and 31.4 million for March. He sees iPad units of 14.2 million in the December quarter and 17 million in the March quarter. Hargreaves adds that iPad component orders suggest that the iPad 2 will continue to be produced and offered alongside the iPad 3.
- Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt points out that the highest single sell-through quarter Apple has ever had for the iPhone in the U.S. before was 5.9 million units; this time, he says, the number could be 12-13 million sold. Add on some inventory build, and he thinks shipments in the U.S. alone could be 15 million units. He notes that the company has been selling 12-14 million iPhones a quarter internationally; the high-end of that range would get you to 29 million, but he thinks the total is likely higher than that, given seasonal factors.
- Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White writes that his “preliminary Apple barometer” for the quarter – a measure of the performance of some of the company’s key suppliers – suggests the strongest December month over-month performance the company has ever seen. “This is the first December we have on record where sales increased month-over-month and thus the best growth rate on record for December,” he writes. “Keep in mind, these suppliers also have non-Apple business that we believe has likely weakened, thus these results underestimate the strength at Apple.”
Getting excited yet?
AAPL is up $2.37, or 0.6%, to $415.81.
Source - [ forbes.com ]
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