Apple’s iPhone 4 is still selling strong, and is the top smartphone at both AT&T and Verizon, based on Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley. Based on the iPhone 4’s current popularity, and projected iPhone 5 sales during this holiday season, Mr. Walkley raised his 12-month target price for Apple’s stock from US$515 up to $545.
“Based on solid demand trends for iPhone and iPad, poor sell-through trends for competing tablet offerings, and the ramping iOS ecosystem driving longer-term replacement sales, we believe Apple will maintain dominant value share of both the tablet and smartphone markets to drive healthy long-term earnings growth,” Mr. Walkley said.
He added that he expects the iPhone 5 will be available on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint when it goes on sale, presumably some time in the next few weeks. “During the holiday season, we anticipate strong sales of the iPhone 5, as we anticipate a strong global launch with increased distribution to new carriers including Sprint in the U.S. market,” he said.
While Apple hasn’t announced a new iPhone model yet, the company is generally expected to introduce the iPhone 4’s successor some time in September or October. So far, the Apple hasn’t said anything about new features, leaving the rumor mills to fill in the blanks with whatever information they can dig up.
Mr. Walkley is maintaining his “Buy” rating for Apple’s stock while upping his target price to $545. Apple is currently trading at $370.11, down 3.94 (1.05%).
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