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S&P Reiterates 'Strong Buy' on Apple, Ups Target Price

Friday, August 25th, 2006 at 4:25 PM - by

Standard & Poor analyst Richard Stice has reiterated his "Strong Buy" rating on Apple's stock and upped his 12-month target price by US$8 to $83. He noted that while the recall of iBook and PowerBook batteries "is disappointing, we believe Apple has a number of positive catalysts that should benefit the shares over the next 12 months."

Writing about the company's $100 million settlement this week with Creative, he said: "We view Apple's decision as prudent, since it eliminates uncertainty and administrative costs associated with the issue. In addition, the settlement amount is only 1% of Apple Computer's net cash and short-term investments balance."

Mr. Stice also reiterated his "Sell" rating on Creative Technology, saying: "We are encouraged by the news [of the settlement with Apple] and believe settlements with other vendors may be forthcoming. Based on lower risk factors that we see, our 12-month target price rises by $1 to $6. However, we remain concerned about the competitive landscape of the MP3 market and believe upcoming products by other players are likely to intensify this impact."

Apple's shares closed the day at $68.75, up 1.39%, or $0.94, in trading.

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