Apple Inc. (AAPL): Do You Have the Stomach to Start Buying?

But I believe that the clarion call of new Apple products will bring back a strong sense of the goodwill that Apple enjoyed under Steve Jobs. In those days, young consumers lined up outside stores to buy the newest iPhone or iPad the way their old-fogey parents camped out to snap up the latest Beatles album (and please don’t ask derisively, “What’s an album?”).

Indeed, Munster is leading the call for a second-half charge by Apple.

Last month, even as he was issuing that sobering quarterly earnings projection, Munster also felt it necessary to tell investors:

We believe the risk-reward to owning shares of AAPL is favorable given the back half of the year will likely have several product announcements that should reaccelerate earnings growth from a negative 14% in the first half of 2013 to a positive 15% in the back half. While we believe that the Street numbers are too high for March and June, we view the risk around the quarter and guide as small as the March report and June guide will likely mark the turning point as investors look to the back half opportunity with new product launches.

To close, Munster restated his Apple target price of $767.

Here’s what it all boils down to, and I’m not talking about phones and gadgets and elevision commercials.

I’m asking: Do you have the stomach to buy Apple’s stock right now?

Tim Cook, who had the thankless task of succeeding the legendary the visionary Jobs, is a work in progress to many of Apple’s followers. Since Jobs died in 2011, Apple’s fans have waited to see if Cook could do three things: hold Apple together following the death of their beloved leader, present himself as a steady manager, and give everyone help with the presentation of bright new products, which would continue the momentum that Apple so enjoyed under Jobs — and which Wall Street craves.

On job one: Check.

On job two: Check.

But on job three, Cook’s Apple has yet to prove itself. But it won’t be checkmate for shareholders. Just watch. Apple will rise again.

The article Do You Have the Stomach to Start Buying Apple’s Stock? (You Should!) originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Jon Friedman owns no shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple.

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