We’re rich: it once almost went bust, but now Apple is having the last laugh as the richest company on earth. Ever.
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As consumers await the iPhone 5, Apple shares soared even higher on the Nasdaq to 2.6%, closing at $665.15 yesterday, and jumped a further 0.18% in after hours trading to $666.33.
This pushed Cupertino’s market capitalisation up to $623.5 billion – jumping more than $15bn from $607.5 bln value placed on the tech giant just three days earlier, Friday, reports Market Watch.
The only other company to hold such stratospheric market values was another tech giant (and arch Apple rival) – Microsoft – who had a market cap. of $613.3 billion during heyday December 1999, according to Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices.
On average, analysts predict Apple shares will be worth $721.39 over the next 12 months and several believe it will tip the $1000 mark, pushing its market cap. to an eye watering $1 trillion.
Tech analyst Peter Misek, from Jefferies & Co pushed the target price on Apple share up $100 to $900 – a 40% jump from current values – on the back of major product releases including ‘iPhone 5’, ‘iPad mini’ and Apple TV device.
Read: Hello iPhone 5, iTV: Apple To Hit $1 TRILLION Value?
“Asian manufacturers we’ve been in contact with indicated the produciton yield on iPhone 5 has improved, we think iPad mini, and also believe iTV has gone into production,” Misek told CNBC.
“Apple will have three major product launches in next 3-6 months and that why we pushed shares higher,” he said, and also predicts iPhone 5, tipped to go on sale in September, “will be the biggest handset launch in history.”
The news also comes as another tech stalwart, Facebook, saw its shares slump as Peter Thiel, a Director at the social network, flogs his 20 million shares for less than $20 a-pop, a far cry from starting IPO price of $38.
This comes as the ‘lockdown’ period for Facebook shareholders ended, allowing them to sell off their shares which have slumped almost 50% in just a few months.
However, shares rose 5% to $20.05 at close of trading, although fell slightly after hours.
