by , 1:30 PM EDT, May 23rd, 2007

iPod sales for the June quarter may come in below Wall Street's 9.8 million estimate according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Based on extrapolated data from NPD, Mr. Munster is predicting Apple may report only 9.5 million iPods sold for the quarter.

That number is substantially lower than the 10.5 million units Mr. Munster has been predicting, but it could change as additional sales data emerges. So far, there is only one month worth of sales data available.

"The 9.5 million unit approximation is based on various assumptions and is an extrapolation of one month of data," he said. "When the second month of data is released, our analysis will likely lead to a slightly different iPod unit figure than what our analysis suggests based on the first month of data."

Should iPod sales stay inline with the current figures, Apple could report numbers on track with, or slightly below, Street estimates. Mr. Munster's original estimate of 10.5 million units now seems a bit high, but that could change at any time - especially if Apple releases a new must-have iPod model.

Mr. Munster is maintaining his "Outperform" rating and US$140 target price for Apple stock. Apple is currently trading at $114.52, up 0.98 (0.86%).