Needham & Company Trims PT on Apple (AAPL) But Still Sees 57% Upside
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Price: $433.26 -0.3%
Rating Summary:
52 Buy, 12 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 35 | New: 23
Rating Summary:
52 Buy, 12 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 35 | New: 23
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Needham & Company lowered its price target on Buy-rated Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) from $750 to $710, which still suggests 57 percent upside.
Analyst Charlie Wolf said the cut comes amid second half 2012 "cross currents that both increased and decreased the value of the components in our Apple valuation model." He notes the value from the cash and iTunes, software and services gained while the value iPad, iPhone and Mac declined.
Wolf notes that on the positive side, the growth in excess cash over the past six months added $18.70 or 15.1% to Apple's valuation. Also, a newly minted line item - iTunes, software and services - contributed $83.48 or 11.7% to Apple's valuation chiefly because of the outsized gross margins Apple earns on its software.
On the downside, the value of the iPad fell $11.83 or 10.8% to $98.11 chiefly because of the introduction of the iPad mini, which has a much lower gross margin that the full-sized iPad. The value of the iPhone fell $14.56 or 4.5% to $308.64 because of our assumption that the iPhone’s worldwide share would stabilize at 20% rather than 22% as before. The largest decline occurred in the Mac, whose value fell from $100.50 to $57.42, a 42.9% decline, in belated recognition that neither Mac nor Windows sales would continue to rise at past rates because of the onslaught of the iPad and other tablets.
The firm maintained its 2013 and 2014 earnings estimates of $45.70 and $52.50,
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Apple click here. For more ratings news on Apple click here.
Shares of Apple closed at $450.81 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $435.00-$705.07.
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Analyst Charlie Wolf said the cut comes amid second half 2012 "cross currents that both increased and decreased the value of the components in our Apple valuation model." He notes the value from the cash and iTunes, software and services gained while the value iPad, iPhone and Mac declined.
Wolf notes that on the positive side, the growth in excess cash over the past six months added $18.70 or 15.1% to Apple's valuation. Also, a newly minted line item - iTunes, software and services - contributed $83.48 or 11.7% to Apple's valuation chiefly because of the outsized gross margins Apple earns on its software.
On the downside, the value of the iPad fell $11.83 or 10.8% to $98.11 chiefly because of the introduction of the iPad mini, which has a much lower gross margin that the full-sized iPad. The value of the iPhone fell $14.56 or 4.5% to $308.64 because of our assumption that the iPhone’s worldwide share would stabilize at 20% rather than 22% as before. The largest decline occurred in the Mac, whose value fell from $100.50 to $57.42, a 42.9% decline, in belated recognition that neither Mac nor Windows sales would continue to rise at past rates because of the onslaught of the iPad and other tablets.
The firm maintained its 2013 and 2014 earnings estimates of $45.70 and $52.50,
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Apple click here. For more ratings news on Apple click here.
Shares of Apple closed at $450.81 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $435.00-$705.07.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
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