Last year some were saying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would hit $1,000 a share. This year investors and analysts are being more cautious in light of the company’s fall from its high of $705 in September 2012. But not everyone feels the need to be cautious. Writing on The Street, Rocco Pendola explains why he thinks—contrary to his view last year—that $1,000 a share isn’t out of the question for Apple now.
The writer believes that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will stop “being a volatile battleground stock” in 2014 and predicts that it will run “in a straight line” up to $1,000 a share. One of the main catalysts he sees is Apple’s earnings report in January, which covers the important holiday shopping season. He expects that both the iPad Air and the iPad Mini with Retina display will have ruled the season.
There’s certainly little doubt that tablets were one of the hottest gifts during the holidays, but just how hot were Apple’s tablets? The Guardian reported this week that IDC’s latest numbers showed that the iPad grabbed a 38% share of the tablet market during the holiday shopping season. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at, as Android tablets attracted a collective 56% of the tablet market. However, this is the first year since the original iPad came out that Apple’s tablet wasn’t the top-selling tablet in sales in the U.K. Like the smartphone market, it would seem as if growth is shifting toward the low end of the market.
What’s up for Apple in 2014?
So will Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares hit $1,000 in 2014? Of course it’s hard for anyone to say, but even Apple bear Brian White has just a $777 per share price target on the company, suggesting that even he doesn’t think $1,000 is in the cards for Apple in the next 12 months. Nonetheless, the company does have opportunities galore for the next year, from the newly signed deal with China Mobile Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) (HKG:941) to rumored new products like the iTV and iWatch, if they happen to become a reality in 2014.
So is $1,000 a share possible? Of course. Is it likely in 2014? The stock would have to go on a tremendous tear to get there from where it is now, but if Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) does deliver a product which gets investors as excited as they were about Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) at its initial product offering, then it could get close.
