JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has raised its price projection on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock to $715 in a report that suggested the firm’s sales for the first quarter of the new year would be better than expected. The California company which dominates the smartphone and tablet computer market had it’s twelve month outlook upgraded to $1001 yesterday by Topeka. The new report suggests that Apple’s dominance is set to continue for the foreseeable future aided by a recovering US economy and increased sales of its products in China.
The report which was sent to investors was penned by JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz. He suggests that the company’s previous projections had been low and that there was unexpected growth in the consumer electronics market. The bank’s previous estimates suggested the firm would ship 28.1 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2012. That number has mow been updated by over 10% to 31.1 million, an astronomical figure. A rise of over 30% over previous projections was suggested for the company’s iPad. That product’s sales is no expected to be 13.8 million ahead of the previously projected 10.1 million. The sales for the full year are expected to be similarly strong, the projection has increased from 59.8 million to 69.6 million. The previous projections are taken from JPMorgan’s report on the company at the start of the quarter.
The report suggested that Apple maintains a real edge over its competitors and this is key to the company’s continued growth. Moskowitz said he expected the company to refresh its macbook and mac lines in the coming months which should continue the company’s growth in that sector. He also sees enterprise as a huge growth area in the tablet market. Pointing to a 40% portion of the Global PC market for enterprise and a 10% portion of the tablet market in the same he sees those two numbers converging. Apple as the world’s leader by a distance in tablet and the critic’s favorite in the area will benefit hugely from growth in the sector. Moskowitz sees the introduction of microsoft office onto the device, which he sees as unstoppable, will be key to growth in that area.
The only stumbling block for Apple that can be seen is a major change in the company’s philosophy. If it were to stop being the lead in innovation and settle in it’s primacy it might stall like Microsoft did on the last 15 years. Currently there’s no sign of that so it seems the company’s fortunes will continue to rise.
