Analyst: Apple could ship over 37 million iPods in 2005
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
A recent Forbes article quotes Piper Jaffray Senior Analyst Gene Munster as being very optimistic on Apple’s 2005 fiscal results. “We expect the iPod to continue to be a foundation for growth in other parts of Apple’s business,â€? said Munster, “and we expect that by the end of calendar 2005 more than 37 million iPods will have shipped, providing Apple with a greater scope of awareness for various products (‘halo’ effect).”
Munster reiterated his “outperform� rating on the stock as well as his $60 price target.
Apple currently has four products in Amazon’s Electronics Top 20, and two in the top 10 (all iPods), and holds a record-setting eight spots in Amazon’s Top 10 Computers category (Sony has 2 laptops on the list). The analyst cites reduced ship times for iPod nanos as an indicationApple production has finally started to catch up with demand for the hot-selling player.
Munster ends the interview by forcasting a bright future for Apple, one that is not solely iPod-based. â€?Apple’s domination in digital music is a critical piece to the story, but we do not believe the iPod is the only growth avenue for the company.”
