A $460 Apple Target Ahead of Verizon iPhone (AAPL, VZ, T, GOOG, RIMM)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is seeing yet one more analyst upgrade ahead of Thursday’s launch of the iPhone with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).  The move is eliminating the AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) exclusivity.  The move is also meant to attack the rise of the Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android O/S for smartphones and the popularity of Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) for Blackberry that have been so popular at Verizon.

This morning comes a boost from Canaccord Genuity’s technology analyst Michael Walkley.  Walkley said in a note to clients that channel checks indicated continued strong sales of the iPhone 4 as the top-selling phone at AT&T.  So much for all the instant AT&T defections to Verizon.  Channel checks also gave favorable iPad trends in the research call.

The analyst anticipate strong iPhone sales after the Verizon launch and Canccord’s iPhone unit sales targets went from 72.9 million to 74.8 million units for 2011.

Canaccord also raised the Fiscal-2011 earnings estimate from $21.84 to $22.92 EPS, with the 2012 fiscal target now moving from $24.00 to $25.60 EPS.  The larger issue for shareholders and for headlines is the new target.  The old $432 price target is now a $460 price target.

This new research upgrade may fall well short of a $550 target from a firm named Ticonderoga, but it is still bullish enough. Apple is indicated up marginally this morning after a $351.88 close on Monday.  Its 52-week high and all-time high of $353.25 was also hit yesterday.

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JON C. OGG