Saturday, January 15, 2011

Apple evangelists vs. heretics

Adding Dennis Hildebrand (evangelist), Joe Nocera (heretic).
Just for fun.
Evangelists
Dennis Hildebrand, Apple's Gold, December 28, 2010 LINK
"What a quarter for Apple! How long will this go on? I'm saying Apple will surpass 100 billion in FY 2011. That's 10 billion more than my earlier post. I say this because I believe the iPad is going to explode even more than what I earlier stated."
James Altucher, hedge fund manager/author, December 30, 2010 LINK
"One can go on and on with the metrics of how Apple blows it away but lets just say that in 2013, iPad and app sales represent about 40 percent of Apple’s gross profits. Total gross profits could be about $80 billion (today is $25 billion). Cash flow could be about 75 percent of that (like it is today), or about $60 billion. Slap a 20 times multiple on that and you have a market cap of $1.2 trillion. That’s a shareprice of about $1200 by 2013."
Maynard Um, UBS analyst, January 13, 2011 LINK
UBS analyst Maynard Um just raised his target on Apple to $415 (U.S.) from $365. According to Bloomberg data, that means 19 of the 54 analysts covering Apple now expect a price of at least $400.
Michael ShulmanMichael Shulman's Short Side Trader, January 12, 2011 LINK
"Apple makes better products far more in touch with customer needs than its competitors – and charges them for that quality. Steve Jobs is asked the same dumb question at every analyst meeting – why don’t you cut prices to grab share. Answer – quality and margins are more important than share."
Jason Schwartz, January 6, 2011 LINK
"Our move to add an 8% allocation of short term AAPL calls on the first day of 2011 trading has worked out remarkably well. ... In 2011 Apple will continue its crusade into critical mass which will result in an explosion of iData consumption."
Peter Misek, Jefferies & Co., January 11, 2011 LINK
Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek is bumping his target on the tech darling substantially higher, going from $365 to $450. (Note: AAPL closed at 341.64 today.)
Heretics
Joe Nocera, New York Times, January 15, 2011 LINK
"Here’s the shocker, though. According to Gartner, in the second quarter of 2009, Android sales constituted 1.8 percent of all smartphones sold, compared with Apple’s 13 percent. By the second quarter of 2010 — just a year later — Android was actually outselling Apple, 17.2 percent to 14.2 percent. This must have been a shock to the system at Apple — it was being outdone by an uncool competitor. As much as anything, the success of Android is what finally pushed Apple into the arms of Verizon Wireless, which got much better terms than AT&T."
Scott Blier, January 10, 2011 LINK
"Are these people insane? Maybe it is I who is nuts for not owning it but it will continue to ramp without me. I am almost ready to make a bet that this is the Swan Song of Apple."

Agnonstics
James StewartSmart Money, January 14, 2011 LINK
"I'm not sure what worlds are left for Apple to conquer. ... Nor am I convinced Apple enjoys a natural monopoly, which may be one reason chief executive Steve Jobs has been so protective of Apple's technology. This is in contrast to Google, which can justify spreading its technology around since it does have a natural monopoly in search."

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