Investor iPhone Expectations May Be Too High

June 24th, 2007 at 3:00 PM - Apple Stock Watch by Jeff Gamet

Investors and consumers alike are expecting a lot out of this Fridayis iPhone release. While consumers are expecting the ultimate smartphone, investors are expecting sales upwards of 200,00 for the last two days of June - a number that some analysts see as a setup for disappointment, according to Bloomberg.

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves is one of those predicting Apple will sell 200,000 right away. "Thereis definitely a lot of buzz," he said. "If they only sell 100,000, that would be bad."

If iPhone sales donit meet investor expectations, Appleis stock value may start to fall.

Apple will offer its combination iPod and smartphone in two configurations: a US$499 model with 4GB of memory, and a $599 model with 8GB. The iPhone will be available through Apple retail stores, the online Apple Store, and AT&T stores. Voice and data services will be offered exclusively through AT&T.

While analysts like Mr. Hargreaves and Piper Jaffrayis Gene Munster are predicting high sales for the first two days of availability, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu has a more conservative 50,000 unit estimate.

"The iPhone is not a simple sale," he said. "You have to sign up the customer for service. Can they even get a couple of hundred thousand people through the stores in two days?"

Appleis iPhone will be released at 6 p.m. local time in the United States on Friday, June 29. While many Apple fans and iPhone hopefuls are expected to line up early - and in some cases even camp out overnight - for a chance to be one of the first to buy one, it is still unclear how many will actually put out the cash when the time comes. For now, investors are betting that number will be high.

Apple stock is currently trading in the pre-market at $123.40, up 0.40 (0.33%).

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