Analyst: Sub-$1,000 MacBook Would Be a Smart Choice

If Apple uses its Town Hall event today to introduce a $900 notebook, the move could potentially up Apple’s revenue by 50 percent, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a note to clients on Monday.

Moreover, if even bolder rumors of an $800 laptop are true, Apple's revenue would be increased by as much as 69 percent, says the same analyst, who upgraded Apple stock to Outperform from Market Perform, calling the shares “overly discounted.” Sacconaghi is not taking the iPhone into account, when calculating the generated revenue expected for 2009, Cult of Mac reports. The analyst does mention that he expects Apple to sell between 15 million and 20 million iPhone units next year (both first-gen and 3G), with 13 percent more Macs being sold next year.

Sacconaghi isn't the only analyst confident in Apple's position in the notebook market, especially if the company was to introduce said cheap model. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster also told his clients he believed Apple's big announcement would concern a revamp of the company's entry-level MacBook line. With Apple's upcoming Town Hall event, Munster believes the unveilings are likely to include MacBooks starting at $899 or at least $999.

While it is likely that the new MacBooks be a more premium product (with new aluminum casing and gesture-based touchpad), “we expect the new MacBooks to be a meaningful upgrade with an average selling price 9 percent to 18 percent lower [than today's models]," Munster explained, according to an AppleInsider post.

Munster remains confident in Apple's position in the portable market, maintaining his buy rating on the company's stock, along with a $250 price target on the shares.

Citing a December outlook likely to miss analyst expectations, Sacconaghi cut his target price of Apple shares to $135 from $175, estimating $38.2 billion in revenue for Apple’s fiscal 2009, down from $39.4 billion, as previously expected by the Bernstein Research analyst.