Reasearch firm Piper Jaffray maintained an “outperform” rating and US$52 target price on Apple, saying it expects the fiscal third quarter to be up slightly from the second quarter, reports Forbes. “The bottom line from our checks is that while we are not expecting significant upside to June quarter numbers, Apple’s business appears to be solid in what is typically a seasonally slower period,” Piper Jaffray said. “We believe iPod sales are increasingly becoming less of a focus for Apple specialists, due to improved iPod supply and availability at mass retailers.”