Gene Munster Predicts $205 For Apple in 2008

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has moved Apple’s stock price projection for 2009 up a whole year to 2008, making Munster’s projection the highest price anyone has ever given Apple: $205 per share. Is there method to his madness? Of course. And it has something to do with our obnoxious graphic.

One thing we learned with the iPod is that when a device is game-changing, the demand will come…However, it is difficult to predict the inflection point. For example, in December 2004, Street expectations for iPod ran wild with investors anticipating 8 million iPods, but Apple only sold 4.6 million. It was feared at the time that the iPod would never go mainstream.

Conversations with investors over the past month suggest awareness of potential for iPhone units is high, but awareness of potential resulting impact to earnings is low…if Apple can sell 45 million units in CY09, the earnings power and historical multiple ranges suggest our price target is reasonable.

So as long as Munster gets the rest of Wall Street on board, he’s ready to party. 45 million units sound good to everyone else? [appleinsider]