Barclays ups AAPL figures

Ben Reitzes, an analyst with Barclays Capital, has raised the firm's price target for Apple stock from $113 to $143. FY09 EPS is now projected to be $5 instead of $4.85, while FY10 is expected to produce $5.95 rather than $5.60. The reasoning is attributed principally to Apple's next generation of iPhones, which Reitzes suggests will support $10 per share in annualized free cashflow. Aside from attracting buyers with better hardware, Apple may also manage to secure a long-awaited Chinese iPhone deal before June.

Also on the horizon is a rumored ultra-portable device, slated to ship by the end of the year. Reports elsewhere have suggested that it could be a 10-inch netbook, and that it might also have a five-megapixel camera. Apple has expressed a reluctance to a develop netbook, due to quality concerns; the success of Windows- and Linux-based models may however force the company into competition.

March-quarter EPS is now predicted to jump from $0.98 to $1 on a GAAP basis, or from $1.18 to $1.37 without GAAP. Shipments in the quarter may include 2.19 Macs, and 2.8 million iPhones, the latter being an estimate raised from 2.2 million. Checks from Asia are said to show Apple doubling iPhone production in the second calendar quarter, pushing numbers as high as 4.3 million.

by MacNN Staff