Mizuho Securities joins Apple coverage with $635 target
updated 09:25 am EST, Fri February 10, 2012
EPS could hit $50 in 2012, says analyst
A Mizuho Securities hire, Abhey Lamba, has started Apple coverage at his new firm with a $635 target, says Barron's. The analyst argues that Apple will continue to succeed, and that Wall Street consensus figures are probably too low, despite more intense competition. Android smartphones are mainly taking away share from Nokia and Research in Motion, not the iPhone, he notes.
He further expects the iPad to remain the bestselling tablet, despite the prospect of Windows 8 coming to the market. Windows 8 will be the first version of Windows to concentrate on a simplified touchscreen interface, although people will still be able to access a conventional desktop if needed. The tablet version of Windows 8 will support the ARM-based processors used in devices like the iPad.
For the 2012 fiscal year, meanwhile, Lamba says it is "well within the realm of possibility" that earnings per share could hit $50, although his official estimate is $43.35. He also suggests that "management is now more open toward the idea [of a dividend or stock buybacks];" a theoretical $5 billion buyback could raise EPS by 45 to 50 cents, while a dividend payment would allegedly "diversify the mix of its current investor base."
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
I'm still not quite clear why
Windows tablets would suddenly be in demand now after all those years of not being in demand. I'm only looking at the fact that Windows on a tablet would have always been capable of running Microsoft Office and full desktop applications if that's what consumers had wanted. I thought the iPad was popular because it simplified the way consumers could use a tablet and of course it's long battery life. It seems that Microsoft keeps pushing that Windows on a tablet is more powerful because it can do so many more complicated things, but is that really what consumers want. I personally don't think so. Do consumers really want access to the file system and such? I thought they wanted to leave that stuff to the OS to handle. I'm not knocking Windows 8 because I think it will be a useful OS to have, but I honestly don't see consumers running out buying Windows tablets merely because they offer more access to the core OS. I think that iPads are being sold for for just the opposite. We'll see soon enough if Windows 8 tablets offer a challenge to the iPad based on greater device versatility. If it doesn't, Microsoft could be in an awkward position of having a product that's low in demand.