Piper: NPD figures promise good Q3 results

With the availability of all three months' worth of NPD sales figures, more solid estimates of Apple Q3 product shipments can be gauged, say analysts with Piper Jaffray. Leading this is a predicted 2.35 to 2.4 million Macs, which amounts to a sizable 34 to 36 percent year-over-year increase. By comparison, The Street has targeted 25 percent. Piper says it is leaning towards the conservative end of its estimates, based on the possibility of low K-12 educational sales. The firm notes, though, that NPD does not track this information.

NPD figures are also said to point to iPod sales between 10 and 10.5 million, creating a gamut with The Street's consensus figure sitting in the middle, at 10.3 million. Quarter-over-quarter growth could thus also vary drastically, rising by between 2 and 7 percent. Normally, Piper obsserves, iPod sales drop 6 percent in the June quarter, making this year particularly impressive.

Apple is expected to announce its Q3 results at the end of today's stock trading.

Filed under: iPod, education, Investor, Apple