Another analyst has raised his price target for shares in Apple Inc. to US$210 per share, joining Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid who did the same thing on September 28th. Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner said in a research note that investors underestimate Apple's ability to generate profits from the iPhone, and moved his price target on the company's stock from $180 per share to $210.

Mr. Reiner cited recent accounting rules changes for Apple that will change the way the company records sales of its iPhones as a factor in his target bump. Heretofore, Apple has been required to record iPhone revenues over a 24 month time frame, but a rules change went into effect last week that will allow the company to record those sales at the time of purchase.

Several analysts have noted that this will make Apple's iPhone profits more apparent, which should in turn generate more interest in the company from investors.

According to a Forbe's report, Mr. Reiner raised his profit estimates for the September quarter from $1.37 per share to $1.50, and his fiscal 2010 estimates from $6.49 per share to $7.76. He also reiterated an "Outperform" rating on the stock, which means he expects Apple's stock to perform better than other companies in its sector.

AAPL fell on Thursday amidst a broader market decline, closing at $180.8599, a loss of $4.4901 (-2.42%), on moderately strong volume of 18.7 million shares trading hands.

*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.