ACI Research's Edward Zabitsky, who famously advised clients to short Apple when it was selling for $450 a share, has seen the future and it is Microsoft's Windows 8
We know what Ed Zabitzky thinks of Apple (AAPL). In a note issued in January, when the stock was selling for $450 a share, the CEO of ACI Research set a price target of $270 and told his institutional clients to sell it short.
On Monday, we learned what he thinks of Microsoft (MSFT).
"If there is one company in the world that understands how to slay a dominant operating system, it is Microsoft," he begins his latest missive, a note subtitled "The Wounded Bear From Redmond Awakens."
The dominant operating system that needs slaying, he writes in language with apocalyptic overtones, is Apple's iOS:
"Enter Microsoft. Windows 8 is Microsoft`s first genuine paradigm shift since Windows 95. It completely embraces web apps based upon technologies like HTML5, Javascript, CSS3, WebGL, et al. Web apps will cause a violently disruptive change for Microsoft and for the entire industry. Make no mistake -- this is not just about Apple. The entire cellphone and computing ecosystem will be shaken to the ground."
This we've got to see.
An analyst with a $270 target and "sell short" rating may have a credibility problem
I applaud my CNNMoney colleague Hibah Yousuf for trying to pin down which hedge funds have been dumping their Apple (AAPL) shares lately, but I'm not sure I would have used ACI Research's Edward Zabitsky as a source for a piece entitled Not everyone loves Apple's stock.
To call Zabitsky's most recent note -- published Jan. 25 -- an MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 18, 2012 12:11 PM ET