It was a busy day for chatter about Apple (AAPL) and its products.
It began with a report by JP Morgan analyst Gokul?Hariharan?claiming that Apple had reduced orders in the fourth quarter for its iPad. Wedge Partners took a similar view. Then followed some defense of Apple by Piper Jaffray and Susquehanna then there was an affirmation of JP Morgan’s stance by FBR Capital. And there was a defense of Apple by Deutsche Bank.?
But there was also a confusing near-refutation, it would seem, of?Hariharan?by his own colleague, Mark Moskowitz, who is the analyst formally covering Apple. (Hariharan?just covers Hon Hai Precision, the contract manufacturer that builds the iPad.)?
Moskowitz rates Apple shares Overweight.
Without actually refuting?Hariharan, Moskowitz distances himself, writing that there is often “noise” in the supply chain, and that one must take an “holistic” view: that Apple’s iPad and iPhone shipment numbers generally keep going up:
Mr. Hariharan’s call focuses on the potential impact of supply chain adjustments on Hon Hai Precision, not Apple. We also point out that supply chain adjustments occur often and in varying sizes. Typically, the suppliers, not the OEMs, are most impacted. The supply chain is ever-changing. In general, an implication of an acute supply chain cut could concern investors, but our message to investors is: no need for alarm. In the past nine months, there has been a lot of supply chain noise related to Apple products. Throughout that period, Apple’s operating results and shipment activity continued to increase above expectations. We expect the same going forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment