Apple has found its groove again.
The iPhone maker’s stock hit $133.82 in early trading on Monday, with Apple less than $1 away from the intraday high of $134.54 reached in April 2015. 2015.
stock price surge, push apple (AAPL) Amid renewed optimism for the iPhone,
Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Monday, citing “major new features” such as “3D sensing” could be added to upcoming iPhone models, according to an investor memo provided to CNNMoney.
Apple’s all-time high was set six months after it released the redesigned iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, sparking CEO Tim Cook explained As the “mother of all upgrades”.
But since then, Apple has broken the tradition of overhauling iPhones every other year. The latest model on the market today looks almost identical to the iPhone that launched in late 2014.
With long wait times and the iPhone’s 10th anniversary coming up this year, hopes are only rising that Apple is about to rekindle demand with a major overhaul of its smartphones.
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Apple’s annual sales fell in fiscal 2016 for the first time since 2001.
Apple cut its CEO’s pay by 15% after failing to meet both sales and profit performance targets.
But that losing streak has just ended.
Apple’s sales started rising again in the December quarter. This was driven by strong demand for iPhones, especially for the larger and more expensive iPhone 7 Plus.
The company sold 78.3 million iPhones in the quarter, setting a new record. At least part of it could be due to Samsung’s recall of smartphones.
“Samsung’s Note 7 struggles likely helped,” William Blair analyst Mark Moskowitz wrote in an investor note earlier this month.
The iPhone isn’t the only reason Wall Street is crazy about Apple. There is also President Trump.
Investors are now optimistic that Apple will benefit from at least one of Trump’s proposals, even as President Trump clashed with Apple during the election campaign.
Apple currently has $230 billion in cash in foreign accounts. If Trump and Congress allow Apple to take that money home cheaper, it could be used for acquisitions and buybacks.
CNNMoney (New York) First published February 13, 2017: 12:24 PM ET
