by , 4:30 PM EDT, April 26th, 2001
CNBC is reporting that A.G. Edwards, a Wall Street brokerage firm, has upgraded Apple this afternoon. According to CNBC, the company cited strong new product offerings, strong education sales, and new lifestyle Apple branded retail stores that Apple will be opening. A.G. Edwards also says that Apple has put its problems firmly behind them. The firm has placed Apple's target stock price at US$35.
Update: A.G. Edwards is officially maintaining it's Buy rating on Apple, based on the above reasons.
For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our updated Apple Stock Watch Special Report. You can also check out our Apple Financial Boards, a new moderated forum for Apple Investors and people who are interested in Apple's financial dealings.
The firm's mention of Apple's retail stores is the highest profile mention of what the Mac Web community has been talking about for more than a year. If there were any lingering doubters, cast aside those doubts. An Apple Store is coming to an expensive mall near you.
Lastly, US$35 is the highest target price for Apple that we have seen. That's a very aggressive target. Note too that this upgrade for Apple is among the first in the entire PC industry. Go Apple. Apple was the first company to be hit with the slowdown, and, more importantly, they were the first company to deal with the slowdown. They were also among the only PC manufacturers to not lay off employees. CFO Fred Anderson specifically said they would not mortgage their future by laying off their brain trust. They were also the first PC company to show they had not only weathered the storm but were improving during the March quarter. It's great to see a Wall Street firm recognize all this.