Apple shares briefly soared past $600 for the first time on Wall Street today, a day ahead of the launch of the next-generation iPad.
Shares of the Cupertino, California-based gadget-maker hit $600.01 shortly after the ringing of the opening bell this afternoon. Apple shares have gained 57% in the past three months and 73% over the past year. They were trading at $252.35 on March 16, 2011.
Some analysts are forecasting they will go even higher. Morgan Stanley have pinned a $720 price target on Apple shares while Canaccord Equity aimed at $710.
Apple's new iPad goes on sale tomorrow in the US and nine other countries including Australia and France. A week later the new iPads will be available in nearly 30 more countries. It has become standard to see long queues at Apple shops on release dates, and a flood of orders for iPads at firm's online store indicates the ritual will continue tomorrow.
Apple's online shop quickly sold out of iPads available for delivery on Friday and began telling buyers they will have to wait several weeks.
Analysts predicted Apple will sell 65.6 million iPads this year, raising their forecast by nearly 10 million tablets after the unveiling of the latest model.
Apple reported blockbuster quarterly earnings in January, driven by strong sales of the iPhone 4S, which was released a day before the October 5 death of Apple's visionary founder Steve Jobs.
Apple's net profit more than doubled in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 to a record $13.06 billion, while revenue soared to an all-time high of $46.33 billion from $26.74 billion a year ago.
