A price target bump from Needham & Co. helped goose Apple’s stock to yet another record closing high on Wednesday. Analyst Charles Wolf issued his semi-annual revision of AAPL’s price target, bumping it from US$620 to $750.
“Since our previous valuation exercise in February 2012, Apple’s sales have continued to grow, although more slowly than in the hype-growth period following the launch of the iPad and iPhone 4S,” the analyst wrote in a research note to clients.
He added, “The increase in our price target stems chiefly from across-the-board upward revisions in all of Apple’s businesses, with the iPhone contributing almost half of the increase.”
Mr. Wolf also noted that iPad has grown faster than the model used in Needham’s previous model accounted for. Mr. Wolf attributed that growth in part to quick penetration of both the education and business markets.
Shares in AAPL ended the day at $668.87, a gain of $12.808 (+1.95 percent), on heavy volume of 20.1 million shares trading hands. The close keeps Apple as the worlds most valuable company with a market cap of $627 billion.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.