Two questions on investors' minds are: Should I buy Apple (AAPL), and where is the stock headed? Leading banks and financial advisory firms hire analysts, whose job it is to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of a given company -- and from that data make a recommendation and a projected stock price.

At Morgan Stanley that analyst is Katy Huberty. In a Fortune article she describes two possible scenarios for Apple. One is her best case. The other is her bearish take.

Continue reading The Case for Apple to Reach $540

The Case for Apple to Reach $540 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The fast moving world of investing can turn on a dime, especially if you own technology stocks. Research In Motion (RIMM) was a smartphone darling. But then came the iPhone and now the iPad. Then we have Google's (GOOG) Android following on Apple's (AAPL) heels.

RIM suddenly woke up a found that it had fallen off its perch. Now the company is scrambling to do catch up. BlackBerry is losing North American market share and the company expects to ship only 13.5 to 14.5 million Blackberry's this quarter, down from 14.9 million last quarter, according to Reuters.

Continue reading Would You Buy RIM on the Dip?

Would You Buy RIM on the Dip? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A few weeks back, we noted that while Apple's (AAPL) products continue to see huge demand, a key concern for the company is management of supply-related constraints. The recent Japanese earthquake has now added to these concerns. According to market research firm iSuppli, the earthquake may cause logistical disruptions and supply shortages for the newly launched iPad 2. Although Apple remains king of the tablet market, it is expected to face a growing set of challengers in 2011 from Research In Motion (RIMM), Motorola Mobility (MMI), Dell (DELL), Samsung and LG.

We maintain a $420 price estimate for Apple stock, roughly 25% above market price.

Continue reading Japanese Earthquake Could Cause iPad Shortage

Japanese Earthquake Could Cause iPad Shortage originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Would you buy a used Apple (AAPL) iPad? It seems that the market for used electronics is booming. Much of it is resold to developing countries. But even here in the U.S. consumers are dumping their old iPads and buying the new iPad2, the Financial Times reports.

That sets up a huge secondary market. The big beneficiaries are eBay (EBAY) and the Apple Store. On eBay, for example, sales jumped from 3,300 to 7,700 in a week with prices dropping from $531 to $484 in just one week. If buyers had done some research they could have bought the same unit from the Apple Store for $399, according to the FT.

Continue reading Would You Buy a Used iPad?

Would You Buy a Used iPad? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Intel (INTC) competes with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) in the PC microprocessor and graphics businesses. We estimate that notebook microprocessors are the most important product segment for Intel, generating roughly 39% of its equity value.

Continue reading As Sales of Tablet Computers Soar, Intel's Stock Value Could Fall

As Sales of Tablet Computers Soar, Intel's Stock Value Could Fall originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

News Corp. (NWS) competes with other media conglomerates like The Walt Disney Company (DIS), CBS Corporation (CBS), Time Warner, Inc. (TWX), Viacom, Inc. (VIA) and The New York Times Company (NYT) in the media and entertainment business. Our price estimate for News Corp's stock stands at $23.20, which is a premium of roughly 25% to market price.

News Corp. recently revealed its digital magazine "The Daily," specifically designed for Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad. Rather than being a modification of existing magazines or newspapers, this is a completely new product optimized for tablet viewing. The company had reportedly invested about $30 million to create the product.

Continue reading News Corp. Launches Digital Magazine; Stock Still Depends on 'Old Media'

News Corp. Launches Digital Magazine; Stock Still Depends on 'Old Media' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Inc. (AAPL), known for its ability to bring innovative products to market, recently unveiled the newest member of its tablet family: the iPad 2. iPad 2 has a few superior features over its predecessor, including a faster A5 processor as well as front and rear facing cameras. The new product is also lighter and thinner than the original.

Apple has established itself as the dominant player in the tablet market, but 2011 could bring more meaningful competition to Apple with players like Research In Motion Limited (RIMM), Motorola Mobility (MMI), Samsung, Dell, Inc. (DELL) and LG jumping onto the tablet bandwagon.

Continue reading Tablet Competitors Making a Charge; Can iPad 2 Hold the Line?

Tablet Competitors Making a Charge; Can iPad 2 Hold the Line? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) closed up 0.8% on the unveiling of the iPad 2. AAPL March put option implied volatility is at 26, May is at 33, compared to its 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data. That suggests larger price movement in May.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) overall option implied volatility of 20 is near its 26-week average of 21 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional movement into a March 8 investor briefing.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Apple March Put Volatility Low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When it comes to picking trends, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has nailed the latest market to experience explosive growth. It is the fast-growing tablet market, as reported in Reuters.

Morgan's analyst, Mark Moskowitz, has upped his forecasts for tablet sales in 2011 and 2012. For 2011 he raised his numbers from $24.9 to $26.1 billion. For 2012 his numbers are increased from $34.1 billion to $35.2 billion. Unit sales were upped by over 1 million to 48.1 in 2011 and 79.6 in 2012.

Continue reading JPMorgan Chase Ups Forecasts for Tablet Sales

JPMorgan Chase Ups Forecasts for Tablet Sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Is Apple ((AAPL) undervalued? We expect the company's earnings to grow at a rapid 24% pace during the next five years," says J. Royden Ward who believe the tech stock meets the criteria for a long-term value investment.

The editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "At 14.7 times our one-year forward EPS estimate, shares are clearly undervalued. Indeed, we consider AAPL to be low risk.

"Apple develops, manufactures and markets personal computers and consumer electronic products. Exciting new products portend continued rapid growth in future years.

Continue reading Would Ben Graham Buy Apple (AAPL)?

Would Ben Graham Buy Apple (AAPL)? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors are always searching the landscape for new and upcoming companies. This year and last the tech sector has had the greatest stars. One small tech company on the move is Nvidia (NVDA). The company specializes in visual computing technologies.

Why give this company a second look? Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPad have changed the way we view the Internet. Now the iPhone and iTablet are using an increasingly large amount of graphic design. Nvidia is on the cutting edge of this new technology.

Continue reading Nvidia: A Company on the Move

Nvidia: A Company on the Move originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) gibe at Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android OS is that it was not designed for tablets. Google answered that challenge last week with the launch of Honeycomb. Motorola Mobility's (MMI) Xoom, due out later this month, will feature Honeycomb and should make a splash in the tablet market as competition heats up among tablet manufacturers and affiliated operating systems.

Even with the older version, Android has already started to dent iPad's market share due to the success of Samsung's Galaxy Tab, and we expect that Xoom could improve Android's position intensifying the showdown between Android and Apple's iPad OS.

Continue reading Google Brings Honeycomb to the Frontlines of OS Wars

Google Brings Honeycomb to the Frontlines of OS Wars originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Apple (APPL) recently reported quarterly sales and profits that exceeded Wall Street's expectations by a country mile," notes dividend reinvestment expert Chuck Carlson.

The editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "The company's humongous cash haul begs the question -- when will Apple start to pay a dividend.

"Revenue rose 71%, while profits jumped 75% to $6.43 per share, beating the consensus earnings estimate by a whopping $1.03 per share.

Continue reading Apple (AAPL): The Case for a Dividend

Apple (AAPL): The Case for a Dividend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The day started off shaky for Apple Inc. (AAPL) after its leader and CEO, Steve Jobs, announced that he would be taking his second medical leave of absence yesterday.

The stock was in the red all day, but did rebound a bit at the end of the day, closing today's session down 2.2% to $340.65, after trading as low as $326.00 earlier in the day.

Continue reading Another Strong Quarter for Apple

Another Strong Quarter for Apple originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There is quiet revolution taking place in communication. It's PC telephony. It's been around for years, but is catching the imagination of users around the world. The key driver of PC telephony is cost. Skype offers free online phone calls to any receiver who also has Skype.

Such calls require a microphone and desktop speakers. In a business setting where cubicles are adjacent to one another, the noise can be distracting.

Continue reading Are Headsets Displacing the Office Phone?

Are Headsets Displacing the Office Phone? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chip maker giant Intel Corp. (INTC) will be reporting its fourth-quarter results following Thursday's market close, with analysts expecting to see another strong quarter from the California-based company.

Going into tomorrow's report, analysts are expecting to see Intel report earnings of 53 cents per share on revenues of $11.37 billion. During the same period last year the company had earnings of 40 cents per share.

Continue reading Intel Fourth-Quarter Earnings Preview

Intel Fourth-Quarter Earnings Preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For years Microsoft (MSFT) was the tech leader. Then, Google (GOOG) came along and Microsoft missed the entire search engine revolution. But Microsoft still dominated in software. Then came Apple (AAPL) with its iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Again, Microsoft missed the small device revolution.

The Wall Street Journal reports that now Microsoft is playing catch-up again. With its next operating system it will use low-powered chips similar to those Apple uses.

Continue reading Microsoft to Feature New Chips With Next Windows

Microsoft to Feature New Chips With Next Windows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"After its two-year romp from 85 to 320 you might be leery of buying Apple (AAPL)," notes Stephen Quickel.

The editor of US Investment Report explains, "The stock's advance has slowed noticeably since topping 300 in October. Even so, we regard Apple as one of our Top Picks for 2011 -- destined to crack above 400 in the year or so ahead.

Continue reading Top Picks 2011: Apple (AAPL)

Top Picks 2011: Apple (AAPL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about my 2011 stock picks, and enough folks have been nudging me that I might as well get on with it. The list will not be finalized until the end of the month. During the interim time I will take readers through a number of possibilities, explaining the rational for my suggestions along the way and adding and subtracting until I get the list down to ten.

Today I will start by reviewing opportunities discussed in another post and determine which of these stocks might provide the best value. The list was originally cast as a globally diversified, large cap, dividend paying and relatively stable group of companies that would likely weather any storm. See: Chasing Value: Bonds, Gold, Stocks and Capital Flight

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- The Journey Begins

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- The Journey Begins originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft's (MSFT) new Kinect technology is paying off with big sales in its first month. Microsoft sold 2.5 million devices, each costing $150, as reported by CNNMoney.

The new Kinect technology enables Xbox users to play video games without a controller. And Microsoft sold more Kinects in its first month than Apple (AAPL) did its iPad. One million iPads sold in its first month of sale.

Continue reading Microsoft Sells 2.5 Million Kinects in a Month

Microsoft Sells 2.5 Million Kinects in a Month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.