Apple Aims for $100 Assault

Apple stores "experienced very strong demand across ... Mac and iPod product lines," over the holidays, he noted. Whitmore has a buy rating on Apple, and his firm does and seeks to do business with the companies covered in its research reports.

JPMorgan analyst Bill Shope expects the company to report revenue of $6.61 billion and EPS of 82 cents -- well above the consensus -- which would likely drive earnings estimates and shares higher. He rates the stock buy, and his firm has provided the company with non-investment banking securities-related services.

Shope noted that the latest sales figures from the iTunes Music Store -- over 2 billion songs, 50 million TV episodes, and more than 1.3 million movies sold -- should also bode well for earnings results.

Gartner analyst Mike McGuire said in an interview that there were anecdotal reports of iTunes servers being overwhelmed by the traffic immediately after Christmas.

While Apple's March quarter represents its lightest share of annual revenue, investors also will look for any word that the company can deliver yet another positive surprise three months down the road. Analysts anticipate EPS of 60 cents a share on sales of $5.24 billion.