Black Friday Sales Of The Apple Watch Could Be A Barometer For Apple's Growth This Holiday Season

FBR & Co. issued a report on Apple Inc. AAPL after reports of strong sales of the Apple Watch heading into the holiday season. The firm maintained Apple's Outperform rating.

Analyst Daniel Ives wrote, "We ultimately believe that an uptick in sales/ interest in the Apple Watch, heading into the holiday season, will have positive implications for Apple...Wearables, streaming, augmented/virtual reality (Faceshift), and auto represent next-generation avenues of growth that are key to Cook's grand vision for Apple into the next decade, in our opinion."

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Ives estimates that wearables are an important segment for Apple as it represents a sizeable market for growth. The Apple Watch is believed to represent the first step in opening the door for wearable technology becoming mainstream, thus holiday sales of the Apple Watch are being closely monitored. FBR believes watch sales in the December quarter should be around 5-6 million units and could represent a $20 billion market opportunity for Apple over the next three years.

Shares of Apple recently traded at $118.92, up 0.94 percent.