Analyst reiterates buy

Charlie Wolf of has reiterated his Buy rating on Apple. In a statement provided to investors, Wolf said that any near-term weakness in the stock should be seen as a buying opportunity. "It's a supply, not a demand issue. What's important is that the new model will be available for the Christmas selling season. This would be a non-event if Apple had not stop production of its current iMac." Wolf says Needham & Co. had been projecting iMac sales of 150,000 for Apple's September quarter, and that the shortage will, in the "worst case," drop that number to 50,000 units, which in turn would shave about 5 cents a share off Apple's earnings.

"The underlying good news is that Apple will introduce a new redesigned iMac. We were previously uncertain as to the timing. The critical issue will be the new model's price. Apple must drive the entry-level iMac price below $1,000 from $1,200 currently if it hopes to capture Windows users who have bought an iPod and are now considering the purchase of a Mac."

by MacNN Staff