At this hour, shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are soaring in midday trading, after a notable analyst recommended that investors buy it now. Topeka Capital Markets’ Brian White called the recent sell-off of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares “insanely insane.”
White points out the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is currently in its strongest quarter of 2012. Shares dropped by as much as 28 percent after the stock peaked in September. White also noted that the company’s annual growth is 13 times greater than the growth of the S&P 500 in eight years.
His report to investors this morning said that “20 to 30 percent growth is reasonable, based on the company’s slow market share in mobile phones and PCs, combined with growth opportunities in tablets and new potential areas, such as Apple TV.”
At the end of fiscal year 2012, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had $121.3 billion in cash, which was almost $128 a share. White says even if the company pays investors a higher dividend, it could still have almost $204 billion net by the end of the 2014 fiscal year. Topeka Capital Markets is holding its one-year price target of $1,111 per share for Apple.
Many analysts have thoughts about why shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have plummeted. Some believe Apple products no longer have the appeal they did in the past, while others (Jeff Gundlach in particular) believe that the company can no longer keep up with its rapid rate of innovation since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. Still, other analysts believe increased competition from Amazon, Google, Samsung, and other companies is hurting Apple’s market share.
However, right now there is plenty of good news about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The first weekend it was available, 5 million iPhone 5 handsets were sold. In addition, the iPad Mini is receiving good reviews, and the company is preparing to release the new iMac in just a matter of weeks.
