Piper: Apple gaining in teen preferences, purchases

Analyst firm Piper Jaffray recently completed a national teen survey of buying habits and preferences, and the results show Apple's lead pushing ahead even further. Of the questioned high school students, 22 percent planned on buying an iPhone in the next six months, a significant jump from nine percent in the spring survey. Eight percent already own the phone, up from six percent in the previous report. Of the students that plan on buying a mobile phone, 33 percent named the iPhone as their choice.

The iPod market share has still shown growth, now to 84 percent from 82 percent from last year. The dominance of iTunes amongst teens that legally download music has been more substantial, with 93 percent using Apple's store, up from 79 percent last year.

This is welcome news for a company that has been battered in the stock market recently, as several other analyst firms have downgraded their price targets due to general fears of the potential effects of tightening consumer spending on electronics. Piper has maintained its buy status, however, based on the belief that Apple has positioned itself well for the downturn, compared to its competitors that might not be so well prepared.

Investors have been particularly nervous recently, even driving the stock price down amid a false report that CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack. AAPL has traded at record 52 week lows both Monday and Tuesday, although many of its competitors currently face similar stock market woes.

Filed under: Investor, Apple