Score Double-Digit Gains With These 2 Apple Plays

The latest version of Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iconic smartphone, the iPhone 5, has been a huge sales hit. The phone saw record pre-order sales prior to its September release, and sales figures only got better once the device was released.#-ad_banner-#

According to a recent report from investment bank Canaccord Genuity, Apple saw “very strong sales” of the iPhone 5 at AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), as well as in international markets.

According to Canaccord, Apple will sell 47.5 million iPhones in the current quarter, up from its prior forecast for 45 million. That’s good news for Apple, but what’s even better news are the company’s plans to sell the smartphone in another 50 countries by the end of this year.

In fact, on Monday, Apple announced that the iPhone 5 will be released in South Korea on Friday, Dec. 7, and that it will be released in 50 other countries later this month. News of the additional country releases came on top of the recent big announcement that the iPhone 5 would be available in China as of Friday, Dec. 14.

For traders, news of the additional markets for the iPhone 5 should be viewed as an opportunity to jump on stocks of the companies that supply the electronic guts that actually make up the iPhone.

But what companies make the components that make the iPhone 5 work?

Traditionally, Apple doesn’t release the names of the companies that make the components in its products. Of course, that doesn’t hinder the inquiring minds of the tech and investment world.

According to the tech group ifixit, which conducted a teardown of the iPhone 5 that revealed its component parts, it is comprised of parts from Avago Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: AVGO), Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS), Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Skyworks Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: SWKS), STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) and TriQuint (Nasdaq: TQNT).

I suspect the announcement of the additional country releases should help all of these component parts makers do well over the next couple of months, and that means upside opportunity for traders who want to get long the sector.

Here are two of my preferred ways to get long the iPhone 5 global release without actually have to fork over close to $600 a share for Apple:

Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM)
The chipmaker supplies the main ingredient that makes the iPhone 5 work, and as such, it is perhaps the go-to play in the segment if you want to get long Apple without actually buying Apple shares.

Since the start of November, Qualcomm shares have surged almost 6%, and I suspect that run higher is in part due to anticipation of the iPhone 5 global expansion.

As you can see, the stock enjoyed a great November, with shares trading back above both the short-term, 50-day moving average, as well as the long-term, 200-day moving average. The recent breakout in the stock could easily see shares continue to rise to new 52-week highs near $69. In fact, I expect Qualcomm shares to climb above the $70 level soon, and that could mean more than 10% gains over the next two months.

Action to Take –> Buy Qualcomm at the market price. Set stop-loss at $58.58. Set initial price target at $70 for a potential 11% gain in two months.

Avago Technologies (Nasdaq: AVGO)
The other stock I like here on the iPhone 5 global expansion is Avago Technologies. This firm makes an assortment of digital power amplifiers, two of which are used in the new iPhone. Avago scored a big win with the iPhone 5, and like Qualcomm, the new iPhone 5 markets are likely to propel this stock back above its 52-week high.

The chart here shows the big spike higher during the past week, no doubt due to favorable news that the iPhone 5 will begin selling in China. The additional markets announcement should only fuel interest in the stock going forward.

Technically speaking, Avago shares also have broken through the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, another clear sign that the smart money is getting bullish on the shares.

Action to Take –> Buy AVGO at the market price. Set stop-loss at $32.11. Set initial price target at $39 for a potential 12% gain in two months.

This article originally appeared on TradingAuthority.com:
2 Ways You Could Score Double-Digit Gains Without Paying $575 for Apple