Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Watch Just A Side Story, Says Alex Gauna

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may not be entirely happy with the way the launch of their newest product, the Apple Watch, is going, according to this analyst, but that may not even matter for the technology giant.

In an interview on The iConomy on CNBC, JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna suggests that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been hoping to report larger initial pre-order numbers for their wearables entry.

“Let’s just say Scott that [the Apple Watch] is off to a less than momentous start here. It’s not an embarrassment for Apple, but I’m sure that they would have rather been issuing a press release this morning talking about the millions, not almost a million, units that are on back order and how they are rushing to try and fulfill global demand,” Gauna tells CNBC’s Scott Wapner.

The reaction comes after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was reported in a Slice Intelligence release to have an estimated 957,000 units of the Apple Watch pre-ordered by customers as of Friday last week. Pre-orders for the watch were opened by the consumer electronics giant on that day.

Nonetheless, Gauna says that this is an “interesting” first step in a new product for the iPhone maker. Furthermore, he says that he and his firm are not “wavering” their outlook on the company.

“Not in the least. What we are talking about here is a story that is driven by the iPhone which is on the cusp of achieving 20% global market share. What JMP Securities believes is as Apple hits that 20% level, as we’ve seen in the past with brands like Nokia and Samsung, there’s a real opportunity for the iPhone to surge up to 40% market share. So for us, it’s really about the iPhone,” Gauna tells Wapner.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) smartwatch is just a side story, the JMP Securities analyst adds.

David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital owned about 8.61 million Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares by the end of last year.

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