Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster Said Apple (AAPL) NPD Data Was Positive for Macs, In-line for iPods

May 18, 2009 2:43 PM EDT

Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster commented on Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) today saying the NPD data was positive for Macs, and in-line for iPods.

Munster notes the Mac NPD units for April were -1.8% year-over-year, which suggests to him 2.1-2.3m Macs for the June quarter. Munster said, "We see this as a positive data point given the uncertainty surrounding continued strength following the new desktops launched in March. This data, along with our assumptions for the last two months of the quarter, implies y/y Mac unit growth of -16% to -8%, essentially in-line with the Street at -10% to -7% y/ y growth. Note that this is the first month of data for the June quarter, and it remains too early to call the June quarter based on this NPD data alone."

iPod NPD units for April were down 9% year-over-year, which data suggests units of 9.5-10.5 million. Munster said, "This range implies y/y iPod unit growth of -14% to -5% vs. the Street at about -9% y/y. Given concerns regarding iPod weakness, we believe the segment's in-line performance relative to Street expectations is a positive. Moreover, the shipment of new iPod shuffles, announced on 3/11, appear to have positively impacted the first full month of shipments (April). iPod ASPs continue to decline as they have over the past year. From the March quarter to the first month of the June quarter NPD's monthly average iPod ASPs came down 11%. We are modeling for iPod ASPs to be down 7% q/q, given the new shuffles that began shipping in mid-March. Our unit approximation is based on various assumptions, one of which is NPD data; others include international iPod demand and the impact of the App Store on iPod touch sales."

The firm is reiterating their Buy rating and $180 price target on Apple and keeping it on the Alpha List.

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