Why Apple Investors Finally Get A New Product Category

In a report published Monday, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White commented that for the first time in five years Apple Inc. AAPL enters a new product category – the much anticipated Apple Watch. "In our view, this is the most important product event for Apple since the company unveiled the iPad to the world in January 2010 (launched in April 2010)," White wrote. "Apple titled the invitation to this event, "Spring Forward", that syncs up with yesterday's move to daylight saving time and the planned launch of Apple Watch in April." White added that "it is clear" Apple wants to "polish" the details around its Watch product and will detail pricing, functionality, battery life, applications, partners, launch schedule and more. White stated that it after five "long years" since Apple enthusiasts get a new product category which will "prove to be worth the wait." The analyst further speculated that the Watch will prove to be Apple's best-selling, new product category (in first 12 months of availability) in its history. White conservatively estimated that Apple will sell 20.6 million Apple Watch units in the first year on the market and collect $9.6 billion in revenue. For fiscal 2016, Apple is expected to sell 25.1 million units and collect $11.7 billion which will contribute approximately $0.67 to its earnings per share. Bottom line, with the coming launch of the Watch, expectations for higher cash returns to shareholders and the entry to the Dow Jones Industrial average, White argued that "there is plenty to look forward" to in 2015 and that Apple's valuation "still has room to expand." Shares are Buy rated with a $160 price target.