Piper Jaffray today in a research note maintained the firm’s “outperform” rating and $52 target price on Apple Computer. In the note, Piper noted that Apple’s market share of worldwide personal computer shipments rose to 2.5% in the second quarter, up from 2.3% in the first quarter.

“Apple’s worldwide PC shipment market share over the last 2 years has been hovering in the 1.8%-2.3% range. We expect continued market-share gains through the back-half of CY05, as Apple benefits from carryover from the massive installed base of iPods during the back-to-school and holiday seasons.”

The research firm said that even small gains in market share would significantly boost Apple’s overall revenue and EPS. Specifically, earnings-per-share estimates for Apple would rise 9% if the company grows its PC market share from 2.4% in 2004 to 3.0% in 2006.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Gartner: Apple grows shipments 31 percent in Q2 2005, moves from 5th to 4th in U.S. market share – July 18, 2005
IDC: Apple gains U.S. market share at double overall market rate, up to 4.5 percent for Q2 2005 – July 18, 2005
Gartner: Apple Mac moved up to fifth position in the U.S. market in first quarter 2005 – April 15, 2005