Apple Inc (AAPL)

[roni]

Ahead of the Bell: Apple Target Boosted
Monday October 15, 8:07 am ET
Lehman Brothers Raises Apple Price Target by $30 to $190, Expecting Strong Fiscal 4Q

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Apple Inc. rose in premarket trading Monday, after a Lehman Brothers analyst raised his price target in anticipation of strong fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Lehman's Harry E. Blount said he expected Apple's stock to benefit from strong quarterly results next week, in addition to the release of the Leopard operating system and updated product lines.

Blount raised his price target by $30 to $190, implying upside of nearly 14 percent to Friday's $167.25 closing price, and raised his profit and sales estimates for Apple's fiscal fourth quarter.

Apple's fiscal fourth quarter contains the first full quarter of iPhone sales and a $200 price cut likely accelerated sales toward the end of the period, Blount said.

"We anticipate that Apple will perform better than expectations," Blount wrote.

Blount, who has an "Overweight" rating on the stock, said Apple will continue to grow its market share with updated versions of nearly its entire product line before the holiday season, including Mac desktops and iPods, among other products.

The upcoming release of Leopard should boost sales in Apple's December quarter and give Apple more market share in desktops, Blount said.

Apple reports quarterly results on Oct. 22. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect earnings of 84 cents and sales of $6.05 billion.

Apple's stock rose 91 cents to $168.16 in premarket trading.