Apple: MacBooks Could Offer Upside; AMD Gets A Lift - Barron's (blog)

By Tiernan Ray

Apple (AAPL) this morning announced a revamp of its MacBook Pro line of portable computers, the most notable changes being the introduction of Intel (INCT) processors with four separate CPUs on the chip, and a new technology for connecting peripherals, developed by Intel, called "Light Peak," and branded ThunderBolt. (Intel's press release regarding ThunderBolt was offered up this afternoon.)

And some early reviews are in from the Street:

Maynard Um with UBS reiterates a Buy recommendation on Apple and a $465 price target, writing that the new models could boost Mac results this quarter, with six weeks remaining. "Every incremental 100,000 portable Mac units would add about 2 cents per share to EPS in FYQ2, assuming a slightly lower gross margin," writes Um.

Abhey Lamba with ISI Group notes that Apple have "dropped one mid-range model," in the MacBook line, the prior 15-inch model at $1,999, "and raised the selling price of its high end (17 inch) MacBook Pro by $200." Lamba sees the far higher throughput available through Thunderbolt as boosting the Mac's multimedia capabilities, with MacBook being the first computer to ship with Light Peak.

And on a side note, AMD (AMD) shares are getting a boost from the new machines' inclusion of AMD's "Radeon" graphics chips in the 15-inch and 17-inch models, pushing out parts previously supplied by Nvidia (NVDA), as Nomura Securities analyst Romit Shah notes in a brief piece today.

Shah, who has a Buy rating on AMD and a $12 price target, writes, "While volumes of the MacBook Pro are not significant, we continue to believe that AMD's relationship with Apple is strengthening."

Shah expects Apple may at some point use AMD's "Fusion" application processor (code-named "Krishna") "for high-volume notebook platforms (MacBooks)."

AMD shares are up 43 cents, or 5%, at $8.98.