SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - There are lots of good reasons to own shares of Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs has transformed the iconic PC maker into the dominant player in the digital-music market, posting top line growth that has left its traditional rivals in the dust. Thanks to continued strong demand for the company's iPod media player, Apple sales are expected to rise 26% to $24.3 billion for its fiscal year ending in September. By contrast, big PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. are expected to post single-digit sales growth at best. And Microsoft Corp., Apple's archenemy in markets ranging from software to handheld music players, is seen posting top line growth of 14%, helped by its first update of Windows (now Vista) in five years. And just when analysts were beginning to question how long the iPod could continue to drive growth, Jobs unveiled the iPhone, which puts Apple into the market for a combination cell phone and MP3 player. Some fund managers see the gadget as providing another leg for the Apple growth story to stand on. Clearly, if you're looking for growth in the universe of large-cap PC-related issues, Apple has been the place to be. Still, there's also a good reason not to own Apple shares - they're relatively expensive after a 12-month bull run that has seen the stock surge 50%, compared to a 4% rise in the Nasdaq Composite Index. For its fiscal year ending in September, Apple is expected by Wall Street analysts to earn $3.25 a share. With a share price around $93 as of late Thursday, Apple (AAPL : Apple Inc News , chart , profile , more Last: 92.91-0.84-0.90% 4:00pm 03/30/2007
AAPL92.91, -0.84, -0.9% ) has a current year price-to-earnings ratio of 28. By contrast, the average P/E of technology shares in the S&P 500 Index was 20 at the beginning of March. The latest leg up in Apple shares came after Wall Street analysts began goosing their fiscal year earnings estimates to reflect what Apple might earn from the iPhone. The fact that analysts were raising estimates BEFORE Apple announced the product was a red flag to one fund manager, who sold off his Apple stake after holding the shares for about a year. "That told us things were getting a little bit crazy," said Connor Browne, co-manager of the Thornburg Value Fund (TVAFX : Thornburg Value;A News , chart , profile , more Last: 40.340.000.00% 6:17pm 03/30/2007
Financials Sponsored by: TVAFX40.34, 0.00, 0.0% ) , which had assets of $3.4 billion as of December. It's worth noting that Browne is by no means bearish on Apple, which he thinks will continue to see strong growth in sales of both iPods and Macintosh computers. Still, when Wall Street analysts begin building in assumptions for a product that doesn't have a shipping date, as the iPhone didn't until two months ago, "you can assume that most of the optimism is already built into the stock price," said Browne. The most recent run-up in Apple shares have them back trading near all-time highs, despite the market turbulence that has knocked down other big tech stocks from near-term highs. With Apple shares having risen about sevenfold during the past three years, dwarfing the returns of the broader market for tech shares, investors sitting on profits may want to think like Browne and prudently take them off the table. End of Story
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