Apparently analysts that cover Apple are expecting a strong show for the March quarter for the iconic iPhone even without Apple’s latest creation the iPad reflecting in the results, with iPhone sales expected to rise nearly 80 percent from the same period in 2009 reports an article over on the WSJ.

Furthermore, the sales of Mac are also expected to hit a double figure increase due to a higher overall demand for PCs during the same period. Although there will be an offset to the results with a slowdown of the Apple iPod range with sales expected to fall when compared to the same period of last year.

According to consensus forecasts from FactSet Research, analysts expect for the second fiscal quarter ended in March, Apple to report earnings of $2.43 a share which is a sharp gain from the same period of last year with earnings of $1.33 a share, and the research company estimates that revenue is expected to leap by 47 percent to nearly $12 billion for the quarter.

Piper Jaffary analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients in which he raised his price target on the stock from $287 up to $299, “We believe shares of Apple will move higher over the next three months based on our confidence that the Mac and iPhone momentum will continue.”

As for the Apple iPad, investors will be watching closely the company’s forecasts for the June quarter as the June quarter will be the first period that will reflect Apple iPad sales although analysts expect Apple’s forecasts to be somewhat conservative and even below current Wall Street estimates.