Apple shares up on Wal-Mart pact speculation
updated 06:30 pm EDT, Wed June 15, 2005
Wal-Mart pact
Shares of Apple got a boost today amid upbeat comments by Morgan Stanley analyst Rebecca Runkle, who said the computer maker's may be broader than first thought. AAPL gained $1.13, or 3.1 percent, to close at $37.13. "While we don't believe Apple iPod availability at Wal-Mart is completely new news, we do think the partnership is broader than people think, in transition and set to expand in the near-term," asserted analyst Rebecca Runkle in a note to clients. Apple and the world's biggest retailer have been expanding their pact to sell versions of Apple's iPod from a test to a full partnership, marking a new development as of the last few months, according to Runkle. Runkle said that reports about mounting inventory of Apple products may be exaggerated. "In fact, we do not believe Apple has a major inventory problem," she said. "We think much of the inventory chatter resulted from inventory increases ahead of broadening retail partnerships and sell-in ahead of new product launches." The analyst maintained an overweight rating and $60 target price on Apple's stock.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2002
what about resellers?
This may be good for Apple, but it is bad for resellers, as all that will happen is customers will waste their time asking information and when they find out that the reseller does not have any stock because Wal Mart has extras floating around, they will buy them there and then return back to the reseller and ask them for support.
It is my opinion that Apple should only sell their products through resellers who are trained on the product and are able to support it.
I have seen this issue time and time again with iPod customers not getting adquet support where they bought it, so they demand free support from any Apple Authorized reseller.