Analyst: iPod Switchers Could Boost Mac Sales By 4%

G ene Munster, Sr. Research Analyst for Piper Jaffray, has issued yet another opinion on AAPL. Mr. Munster continues his bullish coverage on Appleis stock, saying today in a research note that Apple will see a boost in Mac sales over the next 4-8 quarters from its iPod customers. From a report from Forbes:

"Our belief is that whether Apple sells 6 million or 16 million iPods in 2005, the peripheral benefit to the companyis core Mac segment and iTunes music store will become more visible over the next four to eight quarters." The research firm said a small attach rate of iPod users to the Macintosh segment "could equate to a material benefit to numbers." If 2% of customers who purchase an estimated 7.5 million iPods in fiscal 2005 decide to also purchase a Mac, when otherwise they would not have purchased a Mac, that would add an additional 150,000 Mac units, or 4%, to Piper Jaffrayis estimates for the year.

Piper Jaffray has raised estimates for both 2005 and 2006, putting Appleis revenue for 2006 at more than US$10 billion. The stock remains an "Outperform," meaning that Mr. Munster expects it to outperform the general markets. He raised his target for the stock to US$44, which is inline with other recent estimates (Merrill Lynch & First Albany).

You can find more information on the Piper Jaffary note at the Forbesi article.

As of this writing, Appleis stock is trading at 38.37, a loss of 0.69 (-1.77%), on moderate volume.