Exciting iPhone 5 Launch Looking To Push Apple Stock To $850 [Report]

With iPhone 5 going on sale around the globe today, Apple is looking to sell its newest hardware in quantities double than what the previous generation iPhone sold on its first weekend. Looking at the growing excitement of robust iPhone 5 buyers around the world, analyst Chris Whitmore with Deutsche Bank is predicting that Apple stock (AAPL) should soon be hitting the $850 mark, reports the Apple Insider.

Chris predicts that Apple could sell as many as 5 million to 6 million iPhone 5 units in the first weekend alone, while raising his iPhone estimates for calendar 2012 from a previous prediction of 133 million to a new projection of 138 million. During 2013, the analyst forecasts Apple will be selling over 180 million iPhones.

Whitmore sees the iPhone representing about 20 percent of total smartphone share, which would be about even with Apple’s share in 2012. As such, he said his estimates could prove conservative, as he believes Apple has “ample room for additional share gains going forward.”

Whitmore also believes that Apple could see supply constraints extend into the December quarter and holiday shopping season. If that ends up being the case, sales would then be deferred to the first half of 2013, which would suggest that iPhone 5 would generate a longer, more sustained cycle.

Selling at $704.6 per share as of right now, the Apple stock broke the $700 barrier three days ago reaching $657 billion in market capital.

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