Giving estimates can sometimes be hit and miss. For Apple's quarter 3 results, some analysts provided "inspired" estimates but no one really "hit every nail on the head."

According to a report by CNNMoney, Apple analysts have come a long way "in terms of their ability to accurately forecast the company's quarterly results." CNNMoney has been gathering and analyzing estimates of both individual and corporate analysts. Here are the findings:

Scott Craig missed by just 0.05% on his estimate for Apple's revenue. Chuck Jones of Sand Hill Insights nailed Apple's earnings per share. Matt Lew of Braeburn Group was the only analyst who predicted that the company would sell more iPhones and fewer iPads.

"This quarter, the amateurs missed by an average of 2.4% and the pros by only 1% -- the best combined performance since we began this quarterly exercise nearly five years ago."

It seemed analysts, both the amateurs and pros, were getting the hang of it. Two years ago, amateurs beat the pros with 12% miss off the average mark. The pros had a combined average of 23%.