Additional Models May Be Exactly What Apple Needs To Boost Its IPad Sales

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/09/business/most-valuable-brands/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

By Matt Schilling

Saturday, October 4, 2014 11:19 AM EST

Views: 1021

When it comes to the tech sector (XLK), product-related announcements have a tendency to create a buzz, and according to John Paczkowski, there’s a very good chance yet another product-related event could be right around the corner for Apple (AAPL). Mr. Paczkowski, who successfully predicted Apple’s most-recent iPhone 6 launch event, noted that the company will hold its next special event on Thursday, Oct. 16 — not the 21st as previously rumored.

In the wake of Friday’s prediction by Mr. Paczkowski, I not only wanted to highlight Apple’s recent performance, but also note several iPad-related launches that may be on tap for the company’s October 16th event.

Company Overview

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries design, manufacture, and market mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players worldwide. It also sells software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications related to its products. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones that comprise a phone, music player, and Internet device; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets based on Apple’s iOS Multi-Touch operating system; Mac, a line of desktop and portable personal computers; and iPod, a line of portable digital music and media players, such as iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and iPod classic.

Recent Performance & Trend Behavior

As of Friday's close, shares of AAPL, which have risen just under 26% on a year-to-date basis, possessed a market cap of $596.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, and a dividend yield of 1.89% ($1.88). Based on their closing price of $99.62/share, shares of AAPL are trading 0.89% below their 20-day simple moving average, 0.35% above their 50-day simple moving average, and 15.67% above their 200-day simple moving average.

Based on their recent trends these numbers indicate a short term downtrend and a long term uptrend for the stock, which generally translates into a slight selling mode for most near-term traders and a buying mode for many long-term investors. With that said, I strongly believe we could see both its trend behavior and share price continue to reach higher levels in the wake of its upcoming event on October 16.

The Upcoming Apple Event Slated For October 16

Being someone who understands the importance of a tablet, I’m always eager to see what developments Apple has up its sleeve when it comes to the iPad. That being said, the iPad is expected to take center stage as Apple plans on introducing brand new iPad Air and iPad Mini models as well as a new line of iMacs sporting retina displays (resolutions could go up to 6400x3600).

In my opinion, the introduction of several new iPad-related models is exactly what Apple needs given the fact FQ3 sales were hurt by inventory cuts across a number of key channels. That said, Apple’s ongoing partnership with IBM should also play a major role in boosting both FQ4 and FY14 sales.

Conclusion

If Apple can successfully enhance its iPad sales over the next few months as a direct result of its latest product-related launches, then I strongly believe that not only will its recent trend behavior continue to move in more of an upward direction, but its full year earnings for both 2014 (in which analysts are calling for the company to earn $6.33/share on revenue of $180.32 billion) and 2015 (in which analysts are calling for the company to earn $7.27/share on revenue of $201.94 billion) should have no problem surpassing analysts’ expectations.