AAPL Financial News Weekly Roundup: iPhone 6 to Launch in October, Apple to Acquire Swell and More

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares finished last week at $96.13 after reaching a 52-week high of $99.44 on Tuesday. Apple wasn't the only company to feel the end of the week dip however, as the Nasdaq fell over 2% amidst Wall St. anxiety about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates early next year. A slightly weaker than expected jobs report could ease those fears.

One of the notable pieces of news (or rumor) last week was the report that the iPhone 6 will launch on October 14th. This came via a source with firsthand knowledge of a Store Leader at an Apple Store meeting referring to that day as being "immense," and saying that October as a whole would be extremely busy. Most analysts had been pointing to mid to late September as the launch time, maybe that is when they will make the official announcement.

KGI Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, recently estimated that mass production of the iWatch would be delayed from mid September to mid to late November. Last week he adjusted his production numbers to reflect the delay - he now thinks Apple will ship just 3 million units rather than the 5 - 10 million the market is currently expecting.

On Friday, Apple officially finalized the $3 billion Beats Music purchase. Apple now plans to beef up its streaming content by acquiring Swell, a news/podcast app that carries content from NPR, ABC, ESPN, BBC, CBC, and TED among others.

In a note to investors, UBS analyst Steve Milunovich praised Tim Cook and his vision for Apple's future. He refers to Apple's ecosystem of products in various categories as the "Applesphere," and it has him very optimistic about the company's future, which is part of the reason the firm recently raised its target price to $115.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote approved a $450 million settlement in the class action lawsuit against the company for price fixing e-books in the iBookstore. Apple is still appealing the initial guilty verdict, which was delivered by the same judge. This is just a preliminary approval, a hearing for final approval will take place on November 21.