DealsOnTheWeb Daily Deal: 80GB iPod Classic: $209 Delivered
AmTech Reinstates AAPL Buy Rating, Ups Target Price
by , 11:05 AM EDT, May 5th, 2008
American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu reinstated his "Buy" rating for Apple's stock on Monday and boosted his target price from US$175 up to $210. Mr. Wu had lowered his rating to "Neutral" just a day before Apple's second quarter earnings report.
Prior to Apple's positive quarterly earnings report, Mr. Wu voiced concerns over how much investors were expecting from the Mac, iPod and iPhone maker. He also expressed concerns over the company's high valuation and stock volatility.
"We overestimated the potential negative reaction on the quarter and in hindsight should have moderated our near-term posture rather than downgrading," Mr. Wu said. "While Apple shares will likely remain volatile and may offer a better entry point, we need to align our rating with our longer term view on fundamentals."
In the short term, however, Apple is likely to experience a "product vacuum" while customers await the arrival of new iPhone and portable Mac models which he expects will appear in the second half of 2008.
Looking forward, Mr. Wu sees a positive outlook for Apple since consumers will be looking for easy to use multimedia devices. "Integrating technologies into products that are simple and elegant has continually proven not to be easy," he said. "Apple is an innovator and integrator of technologies. No supplier does this better than Apple and no competitor has better vision on where consumer markets are headed."
Apple is currently trading at $184.9301, up 3.9901 (2.21%).
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.
Observer Comments
I'm sure there will be plenty of Apple fans bashing Mr. Wu on this, but please keep in mind; Mr. Wu was one of the very bullish analysts throughout last year. This includes January this year, when AAPL sank 40%. Two weeks, ago, AAPL was looking at extremely rapid recovery, and at the end of a disastrous quarter for the US economy, it was just not prudent to expect Apple to beat the Street expectations by that much. Thus, Mr. Wu recommended caution (he didn't d 'Sell'; just 'Hold'). Having heard the very strong rumours about iPhone 3G in the weeks since, he can now comfortably recommend AAPL again without reservations.
Anyone who listened to Mr. Wu during last year would be swimming in AAPL profits by now. Last two weeks could have lost them no more than about 8%, compared to close to 100% gains in one year.
Recent Headlines - Updated Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
- Tue., 1:15 PM
- Caris & Co. Raises Estimates for Apple EPS, Mac and iPhone Sales
- 12:45 PM
- Macnification Manages Digital Electron Microscopy Workflow
- 12:20 PM
- iPodObserver - Italy Gets First iPhone Dual Provider Deal
- 11:40 AM
- Mac Gaming News - Macgamestore Launches Supercow
- 11:05 AM
- Hot Forum Topic - Readers React to Apple/Adobe Rumors
- 10:30 AM
- iPodObserver - NBC Jumps Onboard with Zune
- 9:50 AM
- SMART Utility 1.2 Adds French Localization, More
- 9:15 AM
- Opal 1.2 Adds Gesture Support
- 8:45 AM
- iPodObserver - Vodafone Scores iPhone Deal in 10 Countries
- 8:15 AM
- Apple: Pro Apps Not for Sale
- 8:00 AM
- Consumer Reports: Apple #1 in Tech Support
- 5:45 AM
- Podcast - Apple Weekly Report #124: New iMacs, Apple Lawsuits, RIP GoLive & Speaker Reviews
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
- Other World Computing: Power up your PowerMac G4! Make you trusty PowerMac G4 like new again with up to 2.0GHz Processor Power. G4/1.2GHz for $199, Dual 1.8GHz $498, & More Plug & Play for like new A-OK for OS 9 & OS X, etc.
- MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB Kit $ 90 / 4GB Kit $140 / 8GB Kit $278 Click to Maximize your Macs...
- Mac observers can now play Party Poker for Mac as well as Mac casino games by going to MacPokerOnline.com.
For the latest Apple products use Ciao a comparison website to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate cell phones.
- Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.