by , 11:45 AM EDT, June 20th, 2007

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster took a look at the numbers, and he estimates Apple could sell as many as 10 million iPods for the June quarter. That number comes in above the Wall Street consensus of 9.8 million, but below Mr. Munster's earlier prediction of 10.5 million units.

The iPod sales estimate Mr. Munster derived is based on data from NPD, and includes figures for the first two months of the quarter. "Our analysis of iPod unit data from NPD for the month of May leads us to a preliminary iPod approximation of between 9.5m and 10.0m units for the June 07 quarter," he said.

The figures so far show that Apple's iPod lineup is still in high demand, despite the fact that there has not been a significant upgrade or a new model release this year. While some potential iPod buyers are holding out for the June 29 release of the iPhone, a combination iPod and smartphone, those holdouts don't seem to be having a major impact on iPod sales, either.

New iPod models will, however, likely ship later this year after the iPhone. Those new models may well convert into additional new buyer sales as well as upgrade purchases for current iPod owners.

Mr. Munster is maintaining his "Outperform" rating and US$160 target price for Apple stock. Apple is currently trading at $123.02, down 0.64 (0.52%).