Huge Mac holiday

Users are becoming more comfortable with the idea of adopting the Mac platform, according to several analysts -- a fact that should drive a huge Holiday season in terms of Mac unit sales. Forbes reports that RBC analyst Mike Abramsky upped his price target of Apple shares to $215.00 from $205.00 on Thursday. He maintained his "outperform" rating on the stock. Bear Sterns analyst Andrew Neff also upped his price target on Apple stock: to $249 from $243 and maintained an "outperform" rating. Both analysts expect "massive" holiday Mac sales.

Abramsky expects Mac shipments to jump 47% year-over-year during the company's holiday season quarter. Drivers include the release of Leopard, prompting upgrades, the popularity of the new iMac line, and the so-called "halo effect" generated by the iPhone and iPod. Neff, meanwhile, sees the new iMacs, competitive pricing and expanding distribution as the primary drivers.

Not all analysts are so gung ho, however. According to Steve Hach, a senior analyst at forecaster ValuEngine, Apple's share price does not accurately represent the company's stature in the financial world. In a perfect world, our computer model would set Apple's stock at about $135," says Hach. "Apple is far more overvalued than Google, Intel, or Microsoft."

Competitors will not be the only thing Apple is up against, with both technological and legal hurdles ahead of them still. Apple is relying on the iPhone's success in Europe, but may run into problems as competitors eager to supplant the iPhone introduce similar products that are not bound to a particular service provider, and with 3G connectivity.

by MacNN Staff