Apple (AAPL) Q2 Analyst Round-Up - "Mac Momentum to Continue"

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) analyst round-up following strong Q2 results. Apple reported Q2 EPS of $1.16, 9 cents better than the analyst estimate of $1.07. Revenues for the quarter were $7.51 billion, versus the consensus of $6.96 billion. Apple sees Q3 EPS of about $1.00, versus the consensus of $1.10. Sees Q3 revs of about $7.2 billion, versus $7.16 billion.

Raised Price Target:
Merrill Lynch raises its price target from $180 to $186, maintaining their Buy rating.
Deutsche Bank raises its price target from $225 to $235, maintaining their Buy rating.
Citi raises its price target from $218 to $248, maintaining their Buy rating.
ThinkPanmure raises its price target from $165 to $195, maintaining their Buy rating.
WR Hambrecht raises its price target from $218 to $238, maintaining their Buy rating.

Maintained:
Needham maintains its $234 price target and Strong Buy rating.
FTN maintains its $215 price target and Buy rating.
Caris & Co maintains its $170 price target and Above Average rating.
AmTech maintains its Neutral rating.
Cross Research maintains its $225 price target and Buy rating.
Piper Jaffray maintains its $250 price target and Buy rating.
Soleil Securities maintains its $200 price target and Buy rating.

Upgrades:
Morgan Keegan upgrades from Underperform to Market Perform

Notable Comments:

Citi - "Apple remains our top hardware pick through calendar year-end, with a new $248 12-month target, following a 7-8% revenue beat with upside from all product lines in 1CQ08. A steady stream of new product announcements between June and September should allow the company to continue to gain significant market share in PCs and handsets during 2HCY08.

Soleil - "With Mac sales up 51% y/y- a rate of growth 3.5X better than the industry-we believe our long-term market share thesis for AAPL remains firmly intact."

WR Hambrecht - "With the Mac franchise as the core growth driver, we are still optimistic about the prospects for the iPhone, and we expect Apple to use many of its levers (e.g., price, new features, new models, and new carriers/distribution partners) to accelerate unit sales throughout the year."

Piper Jaffray - "The key takeaway from Apple's Mar. qtr is that the Mac units grew at the highest y/y rates (units 51% and revenue 54%) in 17 years. Macs are the most meaningful category with the most potential and they are performing the best."

Deutsche Bank - "We expect multiple product cycles (MacBooks, Air, 3G iPhone, etc) to sustain strong FCF and EPS growth." "Mac momentum to continue"

[LJ]

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