Analyst: Apple Excited About iPhone Prospects

by , 3:40 PM EDT, May 8th, 2007

Interest in Apple's soon to be released iPhone is high, and it appears the company is excited about the potential for the combination iPod/smart phone to take off. After meeting with Apple executives on Tuesday, UBS analyst Ben Reitzes note that "Apple seems very upbeat about prospects for the iPhone, Macs and Apple TV."

Although Apple and investors have good reason to be optimistic about the iPhone's success based on consumer interest, Mr. Reitzes feels the Mac and Apple TV deserve a closer look, too.

"While the iPhone launch in June should garner significant attention," he said, "we believe that investors should also focus on prospects for continued Mac momentum with new products and the ability for Apple TV to become more of a DVD player replacement over the next few years."

Mr. Reitzes is estimating that Apple will report at 20 percent growth for US$0.70 EPS on $5.22 billion in the third fiscal quarter of 2007. That is based on an iPod unit growth of 19 percent for 9.6 million units sold and a Mac unit growth of 25 percent for 1.66 million sold.

For fiscal 2007, he is estimating $3.53 EPS on $223.7 billion based on a revenue growth of 23 percent. He is also predicting that iPod sales will climb 34 percent to 52.7 million units sold, and Mac growth will rise 27 percent to 6.7 million units sold. Based on the momentum of the Macintosh and the prospect of new products from Apple throughout 2007, Mr. Reitzes predicts that current performance estimates for the company may be conservative.

Looking forward to fiscal 2008, Mr. Reitzes is projecting Apple will earn $30.6 billion in revenue with $4.10 EPS.

Mr. Reitzes is maintaining his "Buy" rating and $133 target price for Apple stock. Apple is currently trading at $104.88, up 0.96 (0.92%).

If you are interested in Apple's stock, join our forum members in the Apple Finance Boards, a moderated forum for Apple Investors and people who are interested in Apple's financial dealings. For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our updated Apple Stock Watch Special Report.