Decline in Apple Stock "Normal," Says One Analyst
Posted 12/09/2009 at 11:35am
| by Andrew Villa
According to AppleInsider, one analyst is expecting Apple's stock to bounce back by the end of the month, before Apple closes out what is to be predicted a "blow-out" quarter.
In recent days, investors have become anxious as AAPL stock gave back some of it's gains. Bian Marshall, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, sent out a new note to investors Wednesday morning claiming that Apple's decline is "normal" for Apple.
"Over the past 10 trading days, we have fielded numerous questions from the investment community regarding AAPL's 8% underperformance relative to the S&P 500," Marshall said. "In our view, the move is 100% related to technicals and position sizing at the year-end... not indicative of fundamental trends."
The note predicts that Apple's stock price will be over $200 again by the end of 2009. Typically, when Apple stock does rebound, it takes about as long as it did to drop, the rebound is typically a "mirror image" of the pull-back, said Marshall.
Marshall believes it will be an "Apple Christmas," pushed by the demand for the iPhone, iPod and Mac lineup. He predicts a revenue forecast of $12.5 billion for December, with $2.27 earnings per share. Those numbers are around $650 million higher than Wall Street's averages.
The note also forecasts a record quarter for Apple, with sales of 19.8 million. As Apple adds more carriers overseas, Marshall expects to see significant international iPhone growth. If you compare those numbers with last quarter--Apple's best quarter ever--the company sold 7.4 million iPhones, 10.2 million iPods and 3 million Macs.
Broadpoint AmTech has stated again its buy rating for AAPL stock and has set a price target of $235.