Morgan Stanley

China's Verizon gets the iPhone

Sales of the CDMA version began Friday at China Telecom's 2,850 retail outlets

If China Unicom (CHU) is the AT&T of China, having enjoyed an 18-month monopoly as Apple's (AAPL) only official iPhone carrier in the world's largest mobile phone market, then China Telecom (CHA) just became its Verizon.

The carrier began taking orders for the iPhone 4S a week ago, and by the time doors opened Friday at China Telecom's 2,850 retail MORE

Survey: 20% of non-iPad buyers would buy a $399 iPad 2

A relatively small price cut, it seems, can make a big difference

In a proprietary survey conducted last fall and released Wednesday, RBC Capital's Mike Abramsky asked some price-sensitive customers who said they had no intention of buying an iPad whether a $100 price cut might change their minds.

Among 1,100 respondents, 17% said they would be "somewhat likely" to buy a $399 iPad and 3% said they would be "very likely" to MORE

Apple shareholders: The odds are against a dividend today

The company is likely to hold on to its $100 billion cash hoard -- at least for now

I suspect that the number one question on the mind of Apple (AAPL) shareholders gathering today at 1 Infinite Loop for the company's annual meeting is what Tim Cook plans to do with Apple's roughly $100 billion in cash and marketable securities.

"I think it's clear to everyone, and I'd be the first to admit, MORE

Apple just doubled its addressable market in China

China Telecom, the country's No. 3 carrier and No.1 Wi-Fi provider, gets the iPhone

"We've been very, very focused on China," Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook told the audience at last week's Goldman Sachs technology conference.

One result of that focus became clear on Monday, when China Telecom (CHA), China's No. 3 mobile carrier and No. 1 Wi-Fi and fixed-line provider (total subscribers: 216 million), announced that it will begin taking iPhone 4S preorders next MORE

Morgan Stanley: Apple could pay a 1.9% to 3.8% dividend from domestic free cash flow alone

Likely to exceed the tech sector's average 1.2% dividend, driving share price up $100

The institutions that hold 70% of Apple's (AAPL) shares lobbied Steve Jobs for years to put some of his company's rapidly growing cash hoard in their hands.

Now that his successor is talking openly about the company's discussions to do just that, the sell-side analysts have started to calculate how big their share might be.

The latest to weigh in MORE

Apple's share price overtakes Wall Street's 12-month targets

As of Wednesday morning Morgan Stanley's and Oppenheimer's were under water

Most sell-side Apple (AAPL) analysts are conservative in their earnings estimates but bullish in their price targets. According to Thomson/First Call, the Street high target this week is $700 and the median is a dollar short of $600. (The independent analysts are even more optimistic; the biggest number we've seen is Robert Paul Leitao's $790.)

But with Apple topping $525 in heavy MORE

Who first called Apple at $500?

Technically, it was Hudson Square's Daniel Ernst. But we have a few caveats.

Eyebrows were raised in October 2010 when Daniel Ernst hiked his 12-month Apple (AAPL) price target from $300 a share to $500. But perhaps drawing attention to himself was the point. The senior analyst at Hudson Square Research is now a regular contributor on CNBC and his current price target -- $700 -- is once again the Street's MORE

Morgan Stanley: 24-36 million more Chinese iPhones in 2013

As the middle class expands, Apple's sales in China could soon reach 60 million per year

Morgan Stanley has seen the future and it's a well-heeled Chinese man (or woman) with an iPhone.

In a note to clients Sunday, Katy Huberty drew on Morgan Stanley's proprietary AlphaWise survey of buying patterns among China's rapidly growing middle class to paint a picture of the smartphone market on the mainland after Apple (AAPL), as MORE

Our Apple whisper numbers

Averaging the Q1 2012 estimates of the six analysts with the best track records

Whisper numbers, according to Wikipedia, emerge from widening cracks in the spreadsheets maintained by Wall Street analysts. Quoting an article by Daniel Svensson, the entry explains:

"When the estimate is first calculated by sell-side analysts, the number is submitted to companies such as First Call to be averaged with other analysts' estimates for the consensus earnings estimate. As MORE

Morgan Stanley: Apple may sell 190 million iPhones next year

A proprietary survey finds demand for iPads and iPhones much stronger than expected

The results of an AlphaWise survey of U.S. consumers conducted for Morgan Stanley the week after Thanksgiving was full of surprises, reports Katy Huberty in a note to clients issued late Wednesday.

iPhones are selling surprisingly briskly. Based on the survey and last week's comments from AT&T (T), Huberty estimates that Apple (AAPL) could ship anywhere from 31 to MORE