Wall Street will look for signs Tuesday that Apple can maintain its strong sales growth amid a weakening consumer market, but will also pay close attention to the physical appearance of chief executive Steve Jobs.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray on Tuesday highlighted shares of Apple Inc. by adding them to its Alpha List, saying three key catalysts are likely to lead to significant share appreciation in the short term.
After extrapolating just-released NPD market research data on Mac and iPod sales for the month of July, investment bank Piper Jaffray is out with a call suggesting that Apple is on track to best Street estimates on both fronts for its September quarter.
Resellers both near and afar are reporting signs that Apple's current line of iPod digital music players are on their way out the door, just as one prominent Wall Street analyst restates his claim that a $199 iPod touch is likely to be among the new models that will fill the void.
After spending 25 hours observing sales of iPhones at Apple's national retail chain, investment bank Piper Jaffray now estimates the company is on track to announce a more than fourfold increase in sales of the handset during its fiscal fourth quarter.
Although it has not yet been announced, investment bank Piper Jaffray believes it's only a matter of time before Apple reveals plans to hold a special event next month to usher in a new array of iPods and Mac notebooks.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray said Tuesday it believes Apple is readying new iPod and notebook products that will apply downward pressure to profit margins because they'll be priced more affordably, such as 13-inch MacBook that will fetch less than $1000.
With sales of Macs maintaining growth rates of more than two times the industry average and a pair of hefty portable updates in the pipeline, Apple is reported to have increased sharply its procurement of notebook-use circuit boards for the third calendar quarter.
If a survey of developers attending Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this week is of any indication, the average cost of a third-party iPhone application will fall well below $3.00, with the vast majority being made available at no cost at all.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray is urging investors who typically focus only on Apple's hardware announcements to also pay attention to the company's iPhone software strategy, particularly its upcoming App Store, which could balloon into a $1 billion market by next year.
AT&T now counts more than 2.5 million iPhone users among its ranks. Also, analysts at Piper Jaffray give a 60 percent chance of Macs at WWDC; the New York Times has developed a new version of its Times Reader for the Mac; and a plunge in Apple stock value on Thursday was triggered by fears of an iPhone delay.
Users should expect only modest improvements in a 3G iPhone but a quick launch, according to a new Piper Jaffray research note. Nonetheless, a study says a quarter of iPhone buyers may be waiting on that upgrade. Also, Apple will open a new Florida store this week; a new iPod nano fix is ready; and the US Department of Defense is eyeing Apple's takeover of PA Semi.
Analysts at Piper Jaffray see iPod shipments on the rise and suggests Apple is bucking fears of a continued downturn. Also, Sybase is readying a native iPhone app, AT&T may offer iPhone insurance, and two carriers in Japan and Korea may launch the iPhone at the same time.
An announcement by France Telecom's Orange subsidiary on Friday to deliver the iPhone to 10 more countries later this year effectively quadruples Apple's total addressable market when combined with other carrier announcements over the past two weeks, according to investment firm Piper Jaffray.
A flurry of new agreements between Apple and international wireless carriers has given American Technology Research higher conviction in the iPhone's near-term growth prospects, prompting an analyst at the firm to raise his price target on the company for the second time in as many weeks.
In its determination to deliver the world's thinnest notebook, Apple admitted to sacrificing some speed and versatility, but a new analysis suggests that it may have given up some early profits as well.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray said Friday it has confirmed a T-Mobile Germany price cut on the 8GB iPhone from €399 to €99, adding that it's a sign Apple is looking to drain existing inventories ahead of 3G iPhone launch no later than June.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray said Wednesday it disagrees with the consensus on Wall Street that growth in Apple Inc.'s iPod business will screech to a halt this year, saying new products like a sub-$200 wireless touchscreen model will allow the company to grow the segment at moderate levels for the foreseeable future.
Investment bank Piper Jaffray is out with a bullish research note on Apple today predicting a diversification of the iPhone line into a multi-tiered family of handsets that will combine for sales of 45 million units next year.
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Katie Marsal
Sam Oliver
Slash Lane
Aidan Malley
AppleInsider Staff
