analysts

Ahead of Apple's second quarter earnings announcement next week, investment firm Goldman Sachs has pushed up its estimates of recent iPhone and iPad sales, as well as its outlook on Apple's stock.

In a note sent out to investors this morning -- relayed by Barrons -- Goldman Sach's analyst Bill Shope said the firm expects Apple to have sold 31.1 million iPhones during its second fiscal quarter, as well as 12.5 million iPads. That's up considerably from the firm's previous estimate of 28.2 million iPhones, and 10.1 million iPads.

Meanwhile, Macs … Read more

Well, this is different: Apple's stock, which has been soaring over the last several years, has been downgraded from Buy to Neutral by BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk.

Piecyk has now pitted himself against countless analysts who believe Apple's shares will continue to soar. And although he thinks Apple will post a strong fiscal second quarter, he thinks the company is facing three major issues that could stunt its growth: changes afoot in the post-paid wireless industry, the possibility of an iPhone price cut, and the prospect of Apple not launching a "revolutionary product into the market&… Read more

It's our 20th episode, which means we break out the expensive rose champagne from the bodega and celebrate in style.

Is it just us, or is the whole world full of chocolates and roses and wine and sunshine today in honor of our momentous achievement? It's like February 14 will forever be known as the day Rumor Has It hit 20 episodes and we decided to bet all our chips on the iPad 3 (or 2S) coming out in March. Thanks, world! We love you, too!

On today's show, we run down the litany of iPad 3 … Read more

After Apple's historic holiday quarter, Wall Street analysts (for the most part) are champing at the bit to raise predictions for AAPL, citing overwhelmingly strong iPhone and iPad sales last year and high expectations for new product releases this year.

According to a report by The Apple Blog, several analysts think Apple is still on the rise, giving its stock evaluation anywhere from a $550 to a $666 target for the coming year. Apple's guidance for the second quarter was surprisingly high given its typically conservative nature, but analyst Shaw Wu believes that could be due to the … Read more

It's Tuesday again, and this time we are prepared.

On today's show, code in iBooks 2 points to possible Retina Display iPad; Casio does something other than make keyboards; our favorite people on Earth, analysts, comment on the upcoming year for Netflix; and we have a couple guesses about who Anonymous will attack next.

Also next week, or maybe the week after, is Humiliation Day. You know what's different about this Humiliation Day? For once, Karyne isn't the big loser. If you have any Humiliation Day ideas for Emily, or if you have any ideas about … Read more

Netflix says its international expansion is central to its growth, but analysts are concerned that the company's overseas exploits could deliver a bundle of financial hurt.

Since Netflix first expanded to Canada in 2010, the company has said that it should be able to break even on international investments within two years. However, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia today wrote in a note to investors that for Latin America, the U.K., and Ireland--Netflix's most recent international rollouts--it could take even longer to break even, due to rising content costs and stiff competition from alternatives, such as Amazon'… Read more

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, in a note to investors, has laid out his predictions for Apple's calendar year 2012. In it he expects a redesigned iPhone 5 to be released in midsummer and only one version of the iPad 3, despite other rumors that Apple could release an expanded lineup of iPad models.

Munster's note, reported by AppleInsider, suggests that Apple's "base case" scenario will see it selling 142 million iPhone units through 2013, which represents an 18 percent increase in revenue from the previous year. In a "bull case" scenario Apple … Read more

Rumors have been swirling that Apple is thinking about launching a television next year, and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster claims to have some insight into what the iPhone maker has planned.

Speaking yesterday at Business Insider's Ignition: Future of Media conference, Munster said, according to the blog, that Apple thinks customers want an all-in-one television that isn't tied down to external boxes.

But in order to deliver that, Munster says, Apple will charge a steep premium for its television. According to Business Insider, Munster said that if a given television costs $800, Apple's alternative will set … Read more

Netflix has endured an exceedingly difficult year. But things will only get worse in the coming months, says Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.

Writing to investors in a research note today, Pachter said that Netflix "is broken," and its decision earlier this year to raise prices on customers who want to both rent DVDs and stream video content proved to be the catalyst that brought those flaws to light.

"It is clear that a price increase was necessary, and equally clear in hindsight that a 60 percent increase on the hybrid customer was too much," Pachter wrote … Read more