Piper Jaffray: Apple Stock Still Good, Apple HDTV Is Coming & WWDC May Disappoint
by Joe White
May 25, 2011
According to Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray, "now is a good time" to own Apple stock. Furthermore, the analyst continues to believe that Apple will release an HDTV, and also notes that his expectations for WWDC 2011 are "relatively low."
The news comes from Apple Insider, who posted an article outlining Munster's note earlier today. The analyst explains that he believes WWDC - with the possible announcement of new hardware and the very likely debut of new software - will have a positive effect on APPL:
"In many ways Apple is a victim of its own success in the eyes of shareholders," Munster wrote. "There are several reasons why some are concerned AAPL will not move higher, including ownership reaching maximum levels among key investors, tough growth comps over the next several quarters, and a lack of share appreciation following a significant beat in March. "But we believe that the multiple will expand slightly as the Street gains confidence in sustainable growth of 25% or greater, new product categories, and new software announced at WWDC on 6/6 will serve as a catalyst in the future."However, despite this prediction, Munster's WWDC expectations are "relatively low," mainly due to the continual rumors claiming that Apple will announce the fifth generation iPhone in September, as opposed to June. But, it's not all bad. Even if WWDC is software-centric, Munster believes that "the software features for the next version of iPhone software (iOS 5) and Mac software (OS X Lion) could exceed those low expectations, and may indicate new hardware features." Furthermore, Munster acknowledges that Apple could surprise the crowd with its usual "one-more-thing" style announcement. The analyst is still confident that Apple will release an HDTV in the coming years - "in the next two to four years," in fact. Munster speculates that this kind of HDTV could connect directly to iTunes, which is a likely possibility. Apple's WWDC keynote presentation is scheduled to take place in just under two weeks, and as mentioned, many expect the company to hold off on announcing a new iPhone handset - something that has featured within previous keynote presentations. Instead, the iPhone announcement is said to take place in September, at Apple's annual music-based event, and WWDC is said to focus on software as opposed to hardware (iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, as indicated by the event's poster, above). However, nobody will be entirely sure until June 6. Remember, you can check out every iPhone 5 and iOS 5 related rumor over at our recently launched roundup resources. Click the links below, check them out, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. AppAdvice iPhone 5 roundup and AppAdvice iOS 5 roundup.
