Amidst a broad market sell-off, the firm sets a new record-high share-price target
“Apple stands to be the high-growth, technology leader having no rival for some time,” writes J.P. Morgan’s Mark Moskowitz in a note to clients Thursday.
And with that he raised his firm’s target price for Apple (AAPL) more than 24%, from $316 to $390 — a new Wall Street record.
And that doesn’t even include the bump Apple would get from building an iPhone for Verizon (VZ).
Moskowitz’s note is packed with bullish soundbites. Among them:
- “Apple is the growth story without rival.”
- “The rapid growth phenomena of both the iPhone 4 and iPad stand to intensify in coming quarters.”
- “Early demand for the iPhone 4 appears insatiable.”
- “We are not concerned about the antenna issue as we expect the issue to be resolved with hardware or polymer modifications.”
- “iPad mania likely intensifies during back-to-school and holiday seasons.”
- “With Mac, we estimate that the incremental revenue opportunity of penetrating the [mid-range PC] Target Zone internationally could exceed $5-7 billion.”
- “We believe that a combination of easing component pricing pressures and improving manufacturing yields should contribute to higher gross margins moving through the next few quarters.”
- “The recent overhang related to Apple’s market capitalization being too big and it attracting the regulators is overdone. Indeed, we think that it is a frivolous topic.”
- “We do not expect the government to penalize a pioneer of enhanced user experiences.”
- “Note that we do not include any impact from iAd revenues or the potential Verizon win for the iPhone next year.”
Despite Moskowitz’s best efforts, Apple’s share price opened lower for the third day in a row. By midmorning, it was trading at 243.57, down $7.96 (3.16%) for the day.
[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]
