It’s going to be one of the worst back-to-school selling seasons for the PC makers. So said Paul Kedrosky, consulting strategist at Ten Asset Management, and Gene Munster, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray. They shared their views for the technology market and discussed where investors should be looking.
“Most of the optimism that’s in the stocks so far largely has to do with cost-cutting that’s been fairly successful with the larger vendors—and not the back-to-school season,” Kedrosky told CNBC.
Kedrosky said he sees Microsoft’s Windows 7 may help the company boost sales as the software will prompt consumers to buy new PCs. However, the lack of enterprise demand may cause the company to suffer.
Counterpoint:
In the meantime, Munster said he expects Apple to buck the sluggish back-to-school trend.
“It’s continuing its market share gain in the college vertical,” he said. “They should have another strong back-to-school season.”
Munster said investors are speculating that Apple’s next giant product will be the Apple Tablet, an iPod Touch-like device that is supposed to function as a small netbook computer and an e-reader. He said the product will be released in about 4 to 6 months.
On the other hand, Munster said he predicts some headwinds forGoogle in the upcoming quarter.
“With the number of searches being down, it’s a great franchise but they’re fighting through some tough search data right now,” he said.
Recommendations:
Munster Likes:
Apple
Kedrosky Likes:
Hewlett-Packard
Kedrosky Dislikes:
Dell
IBM
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Disclosure:
Munster’s firm Piper Jaffray makes a market in the securities of Apple, and will buy and sell securities on a principal basis. No immediate information was available for Kedrosky or his firm.
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CNBC Slideshows:
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