“Bernstein Research’s Toni Sacconaghi today reiterates an Outperform rating on Apple stock, and a $108 price target, warning that Apple may miss high expectations for first-weekend sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus when they go on sale this Friday, but that it may not matter much,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.
Ray reports, “Sacconaghi urges investors not to read to much into weak numbers: ‘Although we see the potential for first weekend sales to disappoint vs. expectations that now appear to be as high as 10M+ units, it is important for investors to keep in mind that ‘first weekend sales’ are principally a function of available supply rather than iPhone demand, as they represents actual shipments to customers and channel partners vs. ‘orders’ (which may or may not have shipped). Accordingly, we would view any ‘disappointment’ as a potential red herring, given the ostensible greater-than-normal supply constraints Apple appears to be experiencing. Ironically, a slower ramp may ultimately be beneficial for Apple – a later China rollout (and later Chinese New Year) could push sales into CY Q1, helping smooth the iPhone’s typical March quarter falloff, and Q2 could benefit from the iWatch launch.'”
Read more in the full article here.