(By Mayur Pahilajani - iStockAnalyst Writer)
New York, NY - Apple Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is considered as one of the technologically innovative companies. It proved the point with the launch of iPhone, which has boosted the company's revenue. The market analysts are expecting the maker of Mac, iPod and iPhone to project a better-than-expected fourth quarter results.
The company constantly makes changes to its products including personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices, as well as related software. It also provides related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions worldwide.
The company, for instance, recently added the shake-to-shuffle mode to its iPod Nano, revised iPod's Touch feature and the reduced the size of the player to thin, long and colorful.
The new iPod nano incorporates Apple’s Genius technology, which automatically creates playlists from songs in the users' music library within a few clicks. The nano is the thinnest iPod by the company with a sleek new design and a curved aluminum and glass enclosure. The new contoured design of Nano is meant to fit even more comfortably in a user's hand. It comes in nine vibrant colors. The iTunes 8 Genius is supposed to play any songs and not just those bought from the iTunes Store that has more than 8.5 million songs.
With its continuous revision and upgrades, the company is able to attract new customers and maintain the confidence of the existing clients. The company launched the first-generation iPhone in June 2007 and then re-launched in its current 3G iPhone on July 11, this year.
According to recent reports, Apple is expected to replace 3G iPhones' ultra-compact USB adapters. The company said the power adapters for the latest iPhone have metal prongs that can break off and lead to the risk of electric shock. The firm said it has not received any cases of injuries and will replace them from October 10. iPhone was sold to countries including United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico and various Latin American nations.
Shaw Wu, of American Technology Research, maintained its rating on the firm's stock at "Buy". He added that the recent power adapter recall will not affect the firm's sales. He considered the news as a "minor speedbump and non-event" as most consumers can charge the iPhone using a USB cable and attach it to a PC or Mac.
During the third quarter ended June 28, the Cupertino, California-based company had posted revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share. In Apple’s fourth quarter, the economists on Wall Street expect the company to sell 5 million iPhones of three main product lines, which will end Sept. 30 (next Tuesday).
Apple has almost sold first generation iPhones to 2.4 million from January to June 2008. Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray & Co. (NYSE: PJC) expects the company to sell as many as 11 million iPods and 2.8 million Mac products, including laptops, desktops, etc.
On Monday, Piper has retained its "buy" rating on the company and maintained its $250 price target for fiscal year 2009. It also raised its net income outlook to 13 percent from its previous estimate of $1.04 a share. While, the firm has raised its fourth quarter per-share-estimate from $1.04 to $1.17 and sales projecting during the quarter from $7.9 billion to $8.37 billion.
Moreover a research from an analyst from JMP Securities LLC found that most of the Apple stores suryed by the firm are concentrating on selling MacBook, which is less expensive comapred to the MacBook Pro. Analyst Samuel Wilson said the research revealed that sales person said that the Pro was suitable for customers with basic computing needs.
The MacBook Pro, which has a high-end video card and a large screen, is considered for professional designers. JMP Securities's Wilson suggested that the overall sales of Apple computers are slowing down due to the global financial turmoil. Consumers are opting for cheaper options in laptops and desktops offered by Apple's competitors.
Shares of Apple on NASDAQ stock market were trading down by 2.87 percent or $4.05 to $136.86 at 11:39am ET on Monday, after it closed at $140.91 on Friday. Over the period of 12 months, the shares of the company have been between the ranges of $115.44 to $202.96.
