http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...ew-of-u-s-team-moskowitz-says.html?cmpid=yhoo
"....JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) analyst Mark Moskowitz said research from his colleagues in Asia about a cut in Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPad orders doesn’t represent the views of the securities firm’s U.S. team.
“Apple is fine,” Moskowitz wrote.
Apple is cutting orders to vendors in the supply chain for its iPad tablet computer, a move that may mean slower sales for companies including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., according to the earlier report by JPMorgan analyst Gokul Hariharan.
Analysts at other firms also issued research aimed at quelling speculation that demand for iPads had diminished -- a concern that dragged down Apple’s stock as much as 3.2 percent in Nasdaq Stock Market trading yesterday. Chris Caso, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group, said the resulting “chatter” was “misleading” and Gene Munster, at Piper Jaffray Cos., said changes in orders may be the result of Apple moving some iPad manufacturing out of Asia to Brazil.
The earlier report “has the equity markets worried about Apple,” Moskowitz wrote yesterday. “Mr. Hariharan’s report focuses on how Hon Hai could be impacted by potential iPad sell- in order cuts. This alert is not the view of the U.S. IT Hardware team.”
Moskowitz maintained his projection that Apple will sell 10.9 million to 12 million iPads in the fiscal fourth quarter. ..........................."
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtrader...ies-jp-morgan-ipad-concerns/?mod=yahoobarrons
But there was also a confusing near-refutation, it would seem, of Hariharan by his own colleague, Mark Moskowitz, who is the analyst formally covering Apple. (Hariharan just covers Hon Hai Precision, the contract manufacturer that builds the iPad.)
Moskowitz rates Apple shares Overweight.
Without actually refuting Hariharan, Moskowitz distances himself, writing that there is often “noise” in the supply chain, and that one must take an “holistic” view: that Apple’s iPad and iPhone shipment numbers generally keep going up:
"...Mr. Hariharan’s call focuses on the potential impact of supply chain adjustments on Hon Hai Precision, not Apple. We also point out that supply chain adjustments occur often and in varying sizes. Typically, the suppliers, not the OEMs, are most impacted. The supply chain is ever-changing. In general, an implication of an acute supply chain cut could concern investors, but our message to investors is: no need for alarm. In the past nine months, there has been a lot of supply chain noise related to Apple products. Throughout that period, Apple’s operating results and shipment activity continued to increase above expectations. We expect the same going forward...."
