Morgan Stanley, UBS raise AAPL target
updated 11:45 am EST, Wed January 11, 2006
Analyst upbeat on AAPL
Morgan Stanley (MS) today set a and raised esitmates, while maintaing an "overweight" rating on the stock and UBS raised its target on Apple to $100, following yesterday's Macworld announcements. MS analyst Rebecca Runkle named Apple her "top pick" coming out of the MacWorld 2006 keynote yesterday, according to Forbes: "iPod momentum is stronger now than it’s ever been," wrote the analyst in a research note Wednesday. "Apple’s system lineup is also stronger than it’s ever been — these two factors alone give us plenty of reason to stay long the stock despite the run it’s enjoyed over the last 15 plus months."
The report says that Runkle raised fiscal 2006 estimates to earnings of $2.03 per share on revenue of $20.8 billion from earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $19.6 billion. The analyst said that Apple's "monumental" holiday quarter helped create a record increase of $2 billion in sequential revenues and a $900 million upside versus the firm's previous estimate.
Meanwhile, MarketWatch reports that UBS upped its price target on Apple Computer to $100 from $86, keeping its "buy" rating on the stock: "While expectations ran high heading into this keynote in terms of product possibilities, we believe Apple's performance in the first quarter 2006 far outweighs any product announcements made (or not made) at the event and should drive momentum in shares."
Apple stock is trading near $83, up over 3 percent ($2.50) since market open.
