Apple Inc. (AAPL) To Sell 6 Million iPhones This Weekend: Munster

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Everyone is talking about the long lines for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new iPhones this morning, but finally we have a real number. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster issued a report saying that 1,417 people lined up at Apple’s 5th Avenue store in New York to buy iPhones.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) To Sell 6 Million iPhones This Weekend: Munster

Demand for new iPhones appears strong

He said last year, there were just 775 people in line for the iPhone 5. He also noted that this year’s lines in Minneapolis and San Francisco were also a bit longer than the average in years past. It’s important to note that last year though, Apple sold the iPhone 5 on preorder through its website, so fans could order the handset and just have it delivered to them on the day of the launch.

This year the iPhone 5C was offered on preorder, but not the iPhone 5S. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remained quiet on how many preorders it received for the 5C, suggesting that the number is either a bad, or possibly even a good, shock.

Predictions for Apple’s iPhone launch weekend

Munster believes that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will sell between 5 million and 6 million iPhones this weekend, with about 3 million of those being the slightly less expensive iPhone 5C. He predicted on Thursday that the company would sell almost all of the iPhone 5S models it had on hand.

KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo’s prediction for launch weekend was even more bullish than Munster’s. He actually predicted that Apple would sell 8 million iPhones this weekend, with 60 to 65 percent of them being the iPhone 5C.

So how will Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) really end up doing this weekend? At least in early trading, investors appear to be playing it safe. The company’s stock isn’t even up 1 percent yet, and if history tells us anything, investors tend to prefer waiting until some actual concrete results are reported by the company.

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