Another Research Firm Boosts iPad Shipment Estimates (AAPL, NOK, RIMM, HPQ, DELL)

Tickerspy’s PC and Smartphone Index

PC AND SMARTPHONE INVESTING IDEAS

• Popular long ideas: AAPL, BBRY, HPQ
• Popular short ideas: AAPL, BBRY, NOK
• Top dividend plays: AAPL, HPQ, DELL
• Pro favorites: AAPL, HPQ, DELL

Sign up and track the PC and Smartphone Index performance

PC AND SMARTPHONE COVERAGE

The lines between PCs, smartphones, and other mobile devices are blurring

• Rumors Abound On New iPhone; Motorola Mobility Struggles To Find Its Way (AAPL, MMI, VZ, GOOG, DELL, RIMM, NOK, HPQ)
• Another Price Target Cut For RIM, iPads Encounter Difficulty In Japan (RIMM, AAPL, GOOG, MSFT, DELL, MMI, HPQ, NOK)
• Samsung Beating Apple and Nokia; Pink Slips At RIM (AAPL, GOOG, NOK, RIMM, DELL, HPQ, MMI)

PC AND SMARTPHONE CHART

PC AND SMARTPHONE METRICS

Avg. Market Cap:	$99.0B
Avg. P/E Ratio:	10.1
Avg. Div Yield:	1.6%

Shares of iPad and iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) are up 1% after yet another research firm ratcheted up its estimates for iPad shipments. This time it’s Needham & Co. saying that Apple is moving more of the world’s most popular tablet device than previously expected. Investors seem to like the news as the Personal Computer and Smartphone Stocks Index is up 0.4%.

Needham, which maintains a “buy” rating and $450 price target on Apple, raised its iPad sales estimate for the current quarter to 9 million units from a previous estimate of 7.5 million units. Last week, CLSA said Apple could sell 14.4 million iPads in the third quarter, well above the consensus estimate of 10-12 million.

Needham did lower its fiscal fourth-quarter iPhone sales estimate to 16 million from 17.5 million on the basis that Apple will reduce inventory before releasing the next-generation iPhone. The research firm raised its fiscal third-quarter EPS estimate on Apple to $5.96 on revenue of $25.4 billion from a previous estimate of $5.21 on revenue of $23.5 billion. The firm raised its full-year profit estimate to $25 a share from $23.90 and its full-year revenue estimate to $103.6 billion from $101.1 billion.

Needham also boosted its 2012 estimates on Apple to $130 billion in revenue from $125.2 billion, while forecasting EPS of $30, up from $28.05, according to Barron’s.

Rivals Nokia (NOK) and Research in Motion (RIMM) are both up 1% while Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) are fractionally higher.

Investors can track the Personal Computer and Smartphone Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Tags: AAPL, DELL, HPQ, NOK, RIMM