AAPL Closes at 52-Week High, Tops $190 Per Share

Shares in Apple Inc. traded higher Tuesday, closing at a new 52-week high at US$190.01 per share, a gain of $3.986 (+2.14%). Volume was strong for the stock, with 21.5 million shares trading hands, well above the average volume of 16.7 million shares.

The rise came amidst a broader tech rally sparked in part with the announcement that electronic manufacturer Avocent would be purchased by manufacturer Emerson Electric Co. The deal put investors in a buying mood, and the result was a 2% gain on the Nasdaq and a broad rally.

Apple has been the subject of several target price increases and rating bumps from analysts in recent week, with UBS (new price target of $265 per share), Morgan Stanley (bump to $210), Oppenheimer ($210), Thomas Weisel ($210), and Piper Jaffray ($235) all sharing a rosy outlook for Apple in the near and medium term.

Apple was trading in the $180 per share range when that wave of upgrades hit last week, and today's close is the highest since December 29th, 2007, when the stock closed at $199.83 per share.

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.