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But some analysts think Apple shares are cheap compared to its peers.
More from the Associated Press:
Apple is worth $415 billion, putting it neck and neck with Exxon Mobil as the world’s most valuable company. But by standard Wall Street measures, its stock is a bargain.
There’s a big discrepancy between Apple’s earnings and its stock price, and it became even more glaring on Tuesday, when the company reported results for its latest quarter. The well-managed launch of the iPhone 4S and the ever growing popularity of Apple products around the world conspired to send earnings and sales zooming past analyst estimates.
Apple’s sales were $46.3 billion in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, up 73 percent from a year ago. That’s more than twice the revenue of its old nemesis, Microsoft Corp. Net income grew 118 percent to $13.06 billion. That’s more than Google Inc.’s revenue for the quarter.
Investors cheered —sort of. Apple’s stock rose 6 percent Wednesday, hitting a new all-time high of $454.45.
Still, Apple’s price to earnings ratio of roughly 13 is far below the S&P 500 average of about 22, an indication that the stock is cheap compared to its large corporate peers.
And analysts believe the stock should be trading higher, based on the earnings expected this year. Before the earnings report, 45 Wall Street analysts who follow the company believed, on average, that Apple should be worth about $556 per share. After the report, the analysts rushed to raise their estimates, some as high as $650.