Expected Upside Gains For Leading Tech Companies (AAPL, GOOG, MSFT, INTC, ORCL)

Analysts keep predicting share price growth even in the face of a sagging global economy. How optimistic are they? Here’s a look at five technology companies — Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) — with current price targets and implied share price gains. All data from Yahoo! Finance.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) carries a mean target price of $491.60 from 47 brokers. In mid-afternoon trading today, shares were trading at $385.43, for an implied gain of $106.17, or 21.6%. Apple’s forward P/E is 11.73 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week range is $290.00-$422.86, and it is trading today about 33% above its annual low, and its annual high is about 14% below the target price.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has a mean target price of $723.39 from 32 brokers. Shares were trading today at $533.87, for an implied gain of $189.52, or 26.2%. Google’s forward P/E is 12.73, and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week range is $473.02-$642.96, and it is trading today at about 13% above its 52-week low and its annual high is about 11% below the target price.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has a mean target price of $31.90 from 26 brokers. Shares were trading this afternoon at $26.82, for an implied gain of $5.08, or 15.9%. Microsoft’s forward P/E is 8.57, and the company pays an annual dividend of $0.80. The stock’s 52-week range is $23.65-$29.46, and it is trading today about 13% higher than its annual low and its annual high is about 7.6% below its target price.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) carries a mean price target of $25.43 from 36 brokers. Shares traded this afternoon at $22.83, for an implied gain of $2.51, or 9.9%. Intel’s forward P/E is 9.32, and the company pays an annual dividend of $0.84. The stock’s 52-week range is $18.90-$23.96, and it traded today at about 21% above its annual low and its annual high is about 5.8% below its target price.

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) carries a mean target price of $35.57 from 37 brokers. Shares traded at $30.80 this afternoon, for an implied gain of $4.77, or 13.4%. Oracle’s forward P/E is 11.65, and the company pays an annual dividend of $0.24. The stock’s 52-week range is $24.72-$36.50, and it traded today at about 24.6% above its 52-week low and its annual high is about 13% below the target price.

Paul Ausick