As Appleunveiled its iPhone 5 Wednesday and prepared for the crucial holiday season, two analysts predict that the company’s stock price could surge into the quadruple digits.
Eric Jackson, the founder of Ironfire Capital, has a $1,650 price target (no joke) on the tech giant by 2015.
His predictions are based upon the launch of a not-yet confirmed, but widely rumored, mini iPad in addition to an Apple TV.
“It’s actually, I think, a pretty modest target when you consider there are going to be other surprises down the road — 2013, 2014, 2015 — in terms of new products that probably Steve Jobs blessed long ago,” Jackson said.
During the holiday quarter, Apple could ship 50 million units, Jackson forecasted. He said that this number could double by 2015. (Read more: Apple Introduces Thinner, More Colorful iPhone 5.)
“To go from 50 million in a quarter to 100 million in three years, when the whole world is adopting smartphones and throwing away their old dumb, clamshell phones, I don’t think that’s unrealistic at all,” he said.
A fellow Apple bull, Brian White, an analyst at Topeka Capital Markets, has a “buy” rating and a $1,111 price target on the company’s stock.
“If you look at the stock right now, it’s very cheap,” White said. “It’s still selling at just 11 times our next year’s earnings ex-cash, so it’s a cheap stock.”
White sees opportunity for growth in tablets, Apple TV and the Chinese mobile market as it battles with other smartphones that use Google's Android system. (Read More: Why Apple Could Finally Cracked China’s Market With the iPhone 5.)
“I think the biggest concern would be, can they keep the momentum going in the iPhone?” he said.
Tech analyst Brian Marshall of ISI Group maintains a $710 price target on the stock, which he characterized as “pretty conservative.”
Although Marshall doubts that Apple will be able to keep up with iPhone 5 demand initially, he still thinks investors should play the space through Apple itself rather than by diving into a chipmaker stock.
“I think it’s a very stable business model clearly,” he said. “I think there’s minimal downside risk. I think the upside’s still pretty attractive so from my perspective I would continue to go with Apple.”
—By CNBC.com’s Katie Little; Follow her on Twitter @katie_little
Additional News: Is This What the iPad Mini Will Look Like?
Additional Views: Apple iPhone 5—The Potential Winners______________________________
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Disclosures:
Brian Marshall does not own shares of Apple. No disclosure information was available for Brian White and Eric Jackson.
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