Apple Computer has been upgraded to “overweight” by Morgan Stanley, which believes the conversion rate to Mac computers within the company’s iPod customer base is roughly double what the market expects.
Analyst Rebecca Runkle introduced a $60 price target, raised her 2005 earnings estimate to $1.31 a share from $1.07 and her 2005 revenue forecast to $16.9 billion from $13.9 billion. Apple shares rose 1.1 percent to $43.80 in morning trading.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s happening, folks. 
Related MacDailyNews articles:
‘iPod Halo Effect’ – sales of the iPod are spurring orders of other Apple products – February 24, 2005
Report: Best Buy to sell Mac mini, could accelerate ‘iPod Halo Effect’ – January 28, 2005
Apple execs now see ‘iPod Halo Effect’ clearly paying off with higher Macintosh sales – January 13, 2005
Holy Halo Effect! Analyst predicts 100 million iPod sales by 2008 – Windows to Mac switchers coming? – November 24, 2004
Analyst: iPod ‘should spur sales of iMac, this is just the beginning of a ramp for Apple’ – November 23, 2004
Survey: 13% of iPod owners have switched, plan to switch to Mac from Windows within 12 months – November 22, 2004
In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, “Woo-hoo!”
I hope these analysts are not just building off of each other’s reports and creating a bubble. I hope they are gathering data independent of one another.
Regardless, I think Apple has a whole bunch of other things coming that Apple has only hinted at (HD!) and the analysts have not yet mentioned in any recent reports. (Although I wonder if some of them have knowledge and are factoring it in, but not mentioning it due to NDA restrictions.)
It’s nice to see these target prices, but this is the market. Remember, these people are sheep. If brokers and anyalists knew the true quality of Apple the price would go high and stay there.
Rebecca Runkle. Sounds like a digestive condition. “How are you feeling?” “Ohh, I’m okay. I’ve just got a little rebeccarunkle, but I’ll be alright.”
Hopefully her prognostications prove to be wildly conservative.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”cheese” style=”border:0;” />
The big surprise in second quarter will be (won’t be after this message) the “large” (magic word) number of power books tha have been sold.
I was in the Regent Street store in London last week and wow, that kit was walking. I was about 40th in the queue (line) to pay and it wasn’t just iPods and Shuffles, it was Powerbooks, iMacs and even an eMac. Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if BeckyRunkle has it right from my micro-view.
I dumped some other stocks I had and bought a bit more at 40. No more extra cash right now to put into it. In fact I would have to sell my AAPL stock to have the money to buy more AAPL stock.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
yeah 60 sounds pretty sweet to me!
” the conversion rate to Mac computers within the company’s iPod customer base is roughly double what the market expects.”
What does the “Market” expect? One or 10 gazillion PC/ipod owners will switch to Macs??
The trouble with stock brokers is they buy a stock at say $10 a share and then they come out with a report that they wrote touting the stock will got to $20 a share. (They just write the report to get others to buy, in hopes that the price will rise over the $10 they bought it at.)
When the stock hits $12 they dump it, take their 20% profit and move on.
A little game they play on the public.
They definitely play that game and I’m pretty sure they operate as a bunch when they sell their stocks.
I just wish I knew when they were doing a stock dump cos I could do it too!
this is a mind blowing article..
1 in 5 Halo Effect?!
When Jobs reported half Mac buyers in Apple STores were ex Windows users, guys like Enderle suspected he was fudging the numbers.. when you’re selling a million iPods a month (well, with the shuffle and lower mini prices, make that 1.5M/month) and then Morgan Stanley (MS?) comes along and says.. oh yeah.. one fifth of those are gonna buy a Mac..
What does Michael Dell say to that.. ! HOGWASH! The consumer market isnt that ready to drop MS!
So 300,000 new Mac users per quarter? 1.2M more per Year?
Good shit..