Barclays on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Before Earnings Report

Barclays projects Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will report earnings in the first quarter of $5.33 a share on revenue of $24.29 billion. For gross margins they see it coming in at 37 percent for the quarter.

Barclays noted, "With regard to the near-term, we believe C4Q was very strong for Apple with strong holiday sales across its device offerings. Apple reports its December quarter-end results on Tuesday, January 18. We are raising our EPS estimates for Apple through FY12 driven by prospects for higher iPhone, Mac and iPad estimates offset slightly by lower ASPs."

Of the 49 analysts covering Apple, 44 have a Buy rating on Apple and 5 a Neutral rating.

Barclays said in 2011 they see Apple selling 17.65 million iPods, 15.3 million iPhones, 6.3 million iPads, and 4 million Mac computers.

Barclays maintains a "Overweight" rating on Apple, which closed Friday at $348.48, gaining $2.80, or 0.81 percent. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $390 to $420.