Slash Lane
Calling Apple stock a "must-own technology bellwether," Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Brian Marshall issued a research note to clients on Monday defending his well-above-consensus iPhone quarterly shipment estimates of 11.3 million units for the three-month period ending December.
That figure is nearly 30% higher than the Street's thinking of about 8.8 million units and would represent a more than 50% increase in sales over the previous quarter, when the Cupertino-based company sold a record 7.4 million iPhones.
Marshall's prediction takes into account assumptions that domestic iPhone activations through AT&T may slip 20% seasonally from the September quarter to just 2.5 million units. However, he's banking on a more than 100% sequential increase in international sales to 8.8 million units, noting that Research In Motion grew its international business by 40% sequentially during its recently-ended November quarter, in which it sold a record 10 million BlackBerries.
"Despite the enormous success of the iPhone since inception in July ’07, we strongly believe the device is still in its infancy with respect to penetrating the global post-paid subscriber market, " he wrote. "For example, our analysis indicates that while the iPhone currently enjoys 5.0% penetration of [AT&T's] post-paid subscriber base, the penetration of its current international carrier partners’ post-paid subscriber base is only 0.8%."
More specifically, the analyst said he believes the iPhone has the best opportunities in international territories with at least USD $20,000 per capita income.
"In our view, Apple remains the best technology company on the planet, and we are comfortable with our Street-high December '09 estimates of $12,509 million [in revenue] and $2.27 [in per share earnings]," Marshall said.
The analyst reiterated his Buy rating on shares of the iPhone maker, raising his price target to $260 per share.
Separately on Monday, Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid also raised his price target on Apple shares by $5 to $250 after weekend checks at the company's retail stores suggested that sales of iPhones and iMacs have been stronger than previously anticipated.
In particular, he said, the iPhone is seeing greater-than-expected success as a holiday gift option. Still, he's figuring more conservative than his colleagues at Broadpoint.AmTech, estimating December quarter unit sales of 8.21 million to 8.89 million units.
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Marko Zivkovic
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23 Comments
Well there you go then!
The last AppleInsider article was about AT&T not selling iPhones online in NY/NJ area.I reasoned it was because AT&T couldn't handle the NY/NJ holiday iPhone customer traffic and Apple wanted those people in THEIR stores and their web site to buy other things.
So in order to 'share the load' a excuse is made up to direct customers to Apple's stores or their web page instead, this time it's a "fraud problem", like AT&T really has a problem with that having sold millions of phones over the years and seen every sort of scam possible, then restricting the sale of only one product to only to one certain highly population dense geographical area during a peak buying season. Duh!So this confirms my reasoning. It's not the first time AT&T has somehow used a excuse to lighten traffic to it's stores or websites concerning the iPhone.
Really deep down inside, AT&T considers the iPhone "just another phone" like all the others they sell and they rather not have foaming at the mouth Apple types in their stores.Also Apple needs to split the stock again, the recession isn't denting it one bit.
Rolling right along......
This sentence needs more work than it received. I think it easily qualifies as a run-on sentence, and the first part is awkward as well.
Here are a few iterations that seem to work much better:
Come next month, Apple is expected to announce the most successful quarter for iPhone sales, by far, in the handset's history, according to one Wall Street analyst who raised his price target on the company to $260 per share.
Apple is expected to announce the most successful quarter for iPhone sales in the handset's history, according to one Wall Street analyst who raised his price target on the company to $260 per share.
One Wall Street analyst expects Apple announce the most successful quarter ever for iPhone sales. The analyst also raised his price target on the company to $260 per share.
Both the King of Prussia (Philadelphia) and Cherry Hill (New Jersey) Apple stores were packed to the gills everytime I went past. And, I mean to the point where you had a hard time walking around in them.
"Despite the enormous success of the iPhone since inception in July ?07, we strongly believe the device is still in its infancy with respect to penetrating the global post-paid subscriber market, " he wrote.
An important point. So this is just the tip of the iceberg, then?
iPhone might very well in time = iPod phenomenon.