Malcolm Owen
Apple's shares are continuing to increase in value, with market movements pushing the iPhone producer's stock price beyond yesterday's record-setting value, by hitting a new intra-day record of $135.09, as well as ending the day with an all-time closing high of $135.01.
Apple started in a strong position, thanks to yesterday's impressive market performance that broke the price record of $132.54 set in May 2015. MarketWatch reports Apple opened today at $133.47, briefly reaching a day low of $133.25, and hitting $135.09 before markets closed for the day.
The high share price also means Apple has a market capitalization of $700.5 billion. The last time it broke the $700 billion milestone was in February 2015, making it the first U.S. company in history to close at that figure, before growing to just under $775 billion later that month.
After hours trading does not appear to be slowing down the rise in the share's price. At the time of writing, Apple's share price is trading higher than the intra-day high, at $135.24.
It is likely investors will keep the rising price trend going, with analysts suggesting it can go far higher in fiscal year 2017. While some suggest Apple could climb to between $140 and $150 per share, with Goldman Sachs' confidence in the fall iPhone refresh prompting it to raise its target price to $150, some analysts believe the price could go as high as $156 per share.
UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said in a research note that Apple's Services arm is undervalued by investors, compared to other parts of the company. After generating $7.17 billion in revenue in the last quarter and demonstrating steady revenue growth, Milunovich suggests "If Apple services were valued similarly to PayPal, the stock would be at least 10 percent higher."
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
19 Comments
Pardon my ignorance, but can someone explain how the stock price is at an all-time high, but the market capitalization hasn't reached the all-time high yet?
The forward PE ratio is 13.5x. That includes $11.75 in cash per share. So, the PE of operating assets is ~12x. You don't need to be a genius to know that the stock is still ridiculously undervalued relative to the average stock in the market (whose forward PE, btw, is 17.5x).
I would buy more if Apple were not too significant a part of my portfolio -- I don't wish to get any more undiversified. :-/
I am so happy for Apple to finally have its success...well at least in terms of its share price. I bought a whole bunch of shares back in 2015 at a price around $127.00. I've watched the value of my Apple shares plummet for no reason I could think of outside of the usual negative Apple noise. And so I held on...and on...and on...because I believed in the company and its products. I hoped one day I would be in green again. Well, I made it out a few days ago and so today I sold a 90% of my shares at $134.00. I didn't make a lot of money in the end but I'm more than happy with my 6% ROI. Now, I hold a very small position in Apple. Do I think it will make it over $140.00. Yes, I do. I will miss that ride but that is okay. This time around I want to diversify as before I was all in Apple. I know that is a mistake to be all in one company...but I did because again I believed in the company.
Again, congratulations Apple on their Market Cap being a great company.