iPhone News Updated

Sterne Agee Says iPhone Production Orders Increased

Sterne Agee Says iPhone Production Orders Increased

For all the hoo-hah over the Apple iPhone 4 antenna issues, customers just keep buying them.

Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh asserted in a research note this morning that his checks with the supply chain finds that Apple “has recently increased iPhone 4 orders,” adding that despite the antenna issue, “the supply chain is scrambling to make more” of the new phone. He thinks the build rate for the September quarter is above 10 million units.

Meanwhile…

• Needham analyst Charlie Wolf this morning raised his price target on Apple to $375, from $280, while repeating his Buy rating, “chiefly because the trajectory of iPad and Mac sales has been materially higher” than he had previously expected. Wolf adds in a research note that “the upgrade cycle of iPhone owners appears to be occurring much faster than we previously assumed.”
• J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz weighed in on the departure over the weekend of Apple exec Mark Papermaster, asserting that “the departure signals that the fall-out from the antenna issue related to the iPhone 4 was bigger than previously indicated in our view.” He also contends that Apple is likely working on a hardware-based fixed for the issue. The analyst notes that Apple remains his top hardware pick.
• CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets analyst Steve Fox weighs in on the potential Verizon iPhone discussion, pointing to the new AT&T disclosure on the potential impact of loss of exclusivity for smart phones, and declaring “We continue to think Apple is likely to add Verizon by early 2011.” That would be consistent with the TechCrunch piece on the subject I noted earlier.

AAPL is down 21 cents, to $259.88.

[Thanks: http://blogs.barrons.com]

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