analysts

Nintendo's upcoming game console, the Wii U, is not really a "next-generation" platform, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said in an interview published yesterday with Industry Gamers.

"The Wii U is a pretty ambitious undertaking," Pachter told Industry Gamers. "It's a new console, with new controls and architecture, but it's not quite 'next' generation. Developers have to contend with differences between the Wii U and current generation consoles, then have to figure out what to do with the controls."

According to Pachter, the Wii U will be home to "no significant … Read more

With Apple's iPhone event just a day away, one analyst says the smartphone's shipments could reach new heights, according to a report.

In a recent note to investors, Janney Capital Markets analyst Bill Choi wrote--according to AllThingsD, which obtained a copy of the document--that Apple will ship 84 million smartphone units this year alone. Next year, iPhone shipments will reach as high as 107 million units, Choi said, according to AllThingsD.

So far, it has been another successful year for the iPhone. In Apple's fiscal second quarter ended March 26, the company sold 18.7 million … Read more

Meg Whitman's first day as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard brought a bevy of questions about whether she's the right pick to turn around the company.

Here's a sampling of analyst reaction following Whitman's debut following the ouster of Leo Apotheker. Ray Lane also became executive chairman at HP.

Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore:

Despite Whitman's many accomplishments, it is not obvious she brings the deep operational acumen (supply chain, logistics, hardware / technical background, etc.) necessary to avoid the missteps of her predecessor - particularly in this environment. In addition, we believe the risk of management … Read more

Tech analyst Charlie Wolf, of Needham & Company, released an update to his watch of Apple stock, raising his February prediction of $450 to $540 behind the strength of 54 million iPads and 108 million iPhones to be sold in 2012.

Wolf's analysis shows the iPhone still being the major chunk of Apple's profits, accounting for nearly 50 percent (value per share). Perhaps surprisingly, the iPad is predicted to jump Mac sales bringing in 12.2 percent while the Mac holds at 11.8 percent.

As noted by AppleInsider, the largest increase in value by Wolf's predictions … Read more

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter today offered up a dismal estimate on June game industry sales.

The analyst said that Microsoft led the way in console sales last month, selling 355,000 Xbox 360 units in the U.S. However, that figure is down 21 percent compared to the same period last year. In Pachter's note to investors, he said that the Nintendo Wii scored the second spot in unit sales with 325,000 sold, representing a 23 percent decline compared to June 2010. Pachter believes Sony suffered a 21 percent drop in unit sales last month by selling 240,… Read more

Nintendo has been touting its upcoming Wii U console, but at least one analyst isn't convinced it has what it takes to be a success.

In a note to investors today, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said that Nintendo's console, which was revealed last week at the E3 gaming expo, is coming to the market too late, and he's concerned the device might not offer a level of graphical power that will set it apart from the competition.

"We think that Wii U is arriving two years late, given that the other HD consoles already have peripherals for movement," Pachter wrote to investors. "As Nintendo did not provide any specifics around the new console's power or pricing (Nintendo used PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game footage in the Wii U presentation), we are assuming that the Wii U is unlikely to provide greater power than the current HD consoles."

Nintendo's Wii U is the game company's best answer yet to its high-definition counterparts, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Nintendo's current Wii console only supports standard-definition gaming, which many hard-core players looking for advanced gameplay took issue with. The device also lacks the graphical prowess of its competitors. Nintendo has promised to address those shortcomings in the Wii U.

Even so, if Nintendo cannot deliver graphical power that easily trumps the competition, Pachter says, the company will have squandered "a tremendous first-mover advantage," leaving Microsoft and Sony open to capitalize with their own future hardware offerings.… Read more

A new report from analyst firm Piper Jaffray says that despite Apple's "lagged" stock gains this year, now is a good time to own shares, based on the company's future.

"There are several reasons why some are concerned [Apple] will not move higher, including ownership reaching maximum levels among key investors, tough growth comps over the next several quarters, and lack of share appreciation following a significant beat in March," Piper Senior Research Analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to investors this morning.

"But we believe that the multiple will expand slightly as [Wall Street] gains confidence in sustainable revenue growth of 25 percent or greater," Munster wrote, adding that "new product categories, and new software announced at [Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6] will each serve as a catalyst in the future."

The firm expects Apple's overall revenue to grow by 28 percent over each of the next four years, with products like the iPhone and iPad exceeding that at 30 and 40 percent respectively. Munster says the stock maintains its Overweight rating and $554 12-month price target.

Munster reiterated once again that one of the aforementioned new product categories could be TV sets, which could arrive in the next two to four years and include tie-ins to the App Store. This is based on Apple's recent additions of MLB and NBA apps to its Apple TV set-top box, and the fact that flat-panel TV shipments have been on the rise. Such a product could add 3 percent to Apple's revenue in 2012, the report estimates, rising to 5 percent in 2013 and 7 percent in 2014. … Read more

Nintendo's 3DS led the gaming market in hardware sales last month, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said in a note to investors today.

Pachter said he believes that Nintendo sold 500,000 3DS units in March, besting the Xbox 360 and Wii, with 480,000 and 410,000 unit sales, respectively. The analyst estimates that PlayStation 3 March sales hit 380,000 units.

Actual sales figures will be announced later this week by research firm NPD.

If Nintendo only sold 410,000 Wii units, its sales would be down 26 percent year over year. Microsoft's unit sales, on the other hand, would be up 42 percent compared with March 2010, while Sony's hardware sales would be up by 21 percent.

But it's Nintendo's feat in the portable space that might be most impressive. The 3DS, which allows users to play 3D games without the need for special glasses, hit store shelves March 27 in the U.S. That gave it just five days to trump other gaming devices that were sitting on store shelves for the entire month.… Read more

The second-generation MacBook Air is proving to be a strong seller for Apple, and one that could bring the company $2.2 billion in annual revenue if the current pace keeps up. That's according to a note by J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz sent to investors earlier today, and picked up by the Financial Post.

Citing data from Gartner, Moskowitz notes that Apple shipped 420,000 MacBook Air units in the fourth quarter of 2010, which is up 333 percent from the same quarter last year, and 326.8 percent from the previous quarter. Moskowitz said that if … Read more