I wrote earlier today that the release of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone is coming in four short days. All the hype, build-up and excitement will likely generate real sales. But with all the hoopla surrounding iPhone, two other little tidbits are emerging in the story that further support the argument that Apple stock is still a buy.

It was announced Friday that Apple is now the third biggest retailer of music in the United States. Research firm NPD Group places Apple at number three in the pecking order having just surpassed both Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), two rather formidable foes.The firm went on to state that Apple's US market share is now at 9.8%, all due to the success of the iPod.

The second fact that makes Apple a compelling buy is the gain in market share of the Mac notebook computer. Again, according to the NPD Group, Apple's Mac notebook climbed almost two full percentage points in market share, to 14.3%. That is a stunning gain in such a short period of time. This could set up Apple to beat revenue and earnings expectations for the quarter ending June 30. I estimate Apple's June numbers to be revenue of $5.3 billion and earnings per share of $0.70-0.71. If Mac sales continue at these levels, the estimates could prove conservative.

With all of these successful product releases, upgrades and market share gains in place, the stock at $123 is indeed a buy.

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research.

Apple: Two more compelling reasons to buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.