Piper Jaffray Maintains OW Rating, $554 PT on Shares of Apple

Piper Jaffray is maintaining its Overweight rating and $554 target on shares of Apple AAPL. “Our App Store model estimates suggest app downloads per iOS device will increase 61% y/y in CY11 vs. a 5% increase in CY10,” Piper Jaffray writes. “Separately, we believe ASPs will be +14% in CY11 vs. -18% in CY10. We see this as evidence of the increasing importance of the App Store in the device buying decision. There are ~425k apps on the App Store vs. ~200k in the Android Market. The App Store (~1% of Apple revenue) brings new features to Apple's iOS devices and creates a virtuous cycle driving sales of iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches. We are also publishing our updated App Store model including app ASPs.” Apple closed Friday at $359.71.