Talking Numbers

Will big iPhone lines equal big returns for Apple’s stock?

Will big iPhone lines equal big returns for Apple's stock?
VIDEO4:4704:47
Will big iPhone lines equal big returns for Apple's stock?

From Singapore to Seattle, Apple fans camped outside stores waiting to buy the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Now investors are wondering if enthusiasm for the latest iPhone will translate to the enthusiasm for Apple's stock.

The sales numbers for the larger new iPhones have been as wildly positive as the device's reviews. On the first day preorders were permitted, 4 million phones were sold, twice what were sold for the iPhone 5 two years ago. Analysts at RBC expect Apple will sell as many as 10 million iPhones this weekend.

(Read: Lines around the world for the iPhone 6)

However, excitement for the iPhone may be curbed because there just may not be enough phones to satiate demand, said Gina Sanchez, founder of Chantico Global. "The biggest problem that it has this weekend in particular is that there are supply constraints," she said. "Numbers are going to be dependent on how many actual Apple iPhone 6 phones there are to sell."

But that doesn't necessarily mean investors should walk away from the stock because the company can't fill all of its orders. "I'm not saying this is a 'sell the news' kind of situation," said Sanchez, a CNBC contributor. "I'm saying that there's going to be a lot of hype—and that can actually continue to build in this stock. … It's just that we may get some disappointment if this weekend's sales numbers weren't quite what people were expecting."

Similarly, Todd Gordon, founder of TradingAnalysis.com, also believes there's pent-up demand in Apple shares. He is long the company's stock indirectly through the Nasdaq composite index, 9 percent of which is made up of Apple shares.

(Watch: New Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus officially go on sale)

"We're set for a breakout," said Gordon, a CNBC contributor. "It certainly seems like there is impetus for this thing to continue higher."

Gordon notes that Apple is currently around its split-adjusted September 2012 highs which were achieved at the launch of the iPhone 5. But he thinks the key to Apple is whether it can break above its Sept. 9 high of $103.08, a price reached the day Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 6.

"We have not broken through the highs or the lows of that day," Gordon said. "Once we get through the highs of the launch of 6, that's a buy for Apple."

But Gordon's chart shows the potential of a breakout soon for Apple's stock. That's because while its highs have gotten lower since Sept. 9, its lows have gotten higher, forming a pennant pattern. "There is a bunch of [potential] energy built up into that pattern," he said. "There has been a lot of volume within that consolidation and people are trying to pick a direction. … It's potential energy that turns into kinetic energy that gives you the breakout to the upside."

To see the full discussion on Apple, with Sanchez on the fundamentals and Gordon on the technicals, watch the above video.

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