Tag Archives: aapl

Fitbit leads fitness band market, but Apple gaining

Fitbit leads the fragmented fitness band market, but Apple (AAPL) is poised to gain share with its Apple Watch, a new survey indicates. Investment bank Robert W. Baird & Co. polled 5,000 U.S. consumers this month for its second fitness band survey. Roughly 20% of respondents claim that they own a fitness band, and purchase intent is strong. Nearly one in four respondents say that they plan to buy a fitness band, up from 14% in Baird’s December survey. Fitbit is the leader in purchase intent, followed by new entrant Apple, then Jawbone and Garmin (GRMN). “Fitbit and Apple (are) seemingly positioned best in the growing industry, though Garmin and Jawbone should also benefit from the rising tide,” Baird analyst William Power said in a research report Thursday. Baird rates Apple stock as outperform and Garmin as neutral. The May survey found that 8.4% of respondents…

Analysts can’t decide if Apple Watch is a hit or flop

Depending on which analyst report you read, Apple ‘s (AAPL) new smartwatch is either a hit or a flop. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty on Wednesday raised her “base case” for Apple Watch sales by 20% to 36 million units in its first 12 months, up from 30 million. “We believe this remains a conservative estimate of demand,” she said in a research report. “However, we believe supply will significantly undershoot demand in the first six months, making our base case the most realistic outcome for shipments near-term.” Her bull case is for 50 million Apple Watch sales, but supply limitations will make that target difficult to reach, she said. Meanwhile, KGI Securities cut its shipment predictions for the Apple Watch this quarter by 20% to 30%, citing slow demand. It now expects 5 million to 6 million units shipped in its fiscal third quarter, 9to5Mac reported. KGI has cut…

Spotify’s New Streaming Video Takes On Apple, Google

Spotify, the world’s top music streaming subscription service, confirmed that it’s adding streaming video, ratcheting up competition in the hot digital entertainment sector against Google (GOOGL) YouTube and Apple (AAPL) iTunes. After word was leaked last week, Spotify at a New York event and on its website Wednesday said it’s adding video clips, podcasts and audio shows to the music mix. Additionally, following the example of Netflix (NFLX) and