Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5’s demand still strong: Pacific Crest

Pacific Crest has iterated its Outperform rating on the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock with a price target of $760.

Analyst Andy Hargreaves has also stuck to his estimate that Apple would sell 51 million units of its iPhone 5 for the quarter ending in December.

In a note to investor, Hargreaves commented that the demand for the iPhone 5 was still strong, based on the long lines witnessed on the first few days of its launch and the waiting times for those who have ordered it online. The iPhone 5 made its debut on September 12, and started selling from September 21st onwards in a phased manner across countries.

“We believe the current stock price underestimates Apple’s earnings power through the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini product cycles and the sustainability of a replacement cycle given Apple’s massive and still growing iPhone and iPad user bases," Hargreaves wrote.

He said that production issues associated with the iPad Mini could likely delay the launch schedule and that could hit estimates for Apple's quarterly earnings.

The iPad Mini is expected to be unveiled on October 23 according to a report by AllthingsD.

Meanwhile R.W. Baird's William Power, who has been tracking the supply and demand statistics of the iPhone 5, said that despite waiting times and stores that had run out of stock of the phone, the supply situation seemed to be improving as he was able to find stores that had the stock of the iPhones on hand.

However in a majority of cases most stores were still working to deliver the devices that had been pre-ordered online almost on the first two days of its going on sale.