J.P. Morgan increases Q1 iPhone and iPad estimates

J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz has made “significant increases” to both his iPhone and iPad sales projections for the first quarter of 2012, raising his price target on Apple stock from $625 to $715, Apple Insider reported on Tuesday. The analyst previously estimated that Apple would ship 28.1 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2012, however he now believes shipments will reach 31.1 million units. Full-year iPhone shipments for 2012 are now expected to total 138.2 million units. Moskowitz thinks Apple’s next-generation smartphone will launch in the second half of 2012 and include a “thinner body and LTE capability.” He projects iPad shipments to reach 13.8 million in the first quarter, up from his earlier estimate of 10.1 million units, and his full-year shipment estimate was raised to 69.6 million tablets, up from 59.8 million. Apple will also “refresh its MacBook portfolio, including the Air, in the next three months,” Moskowitz wrote in his note to investors. He continued by saying that the company needs to improve its specifications and features while introducing lower price points to stay ahead of the “Ultrabook crowd.”

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