Analysts up Apple target on strong results

REUTERS - At least six brokerages raised their price targets on Apple Inc's shares after the world's most valuable technology corporation posted first-quarter results much above estimates on the back of strong sales of iPhones and iPads.
"Very strong and best-ever iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales contributed to record Apple results," Canaccord Genuity said, and raised its price target on the stock to $650 from $560.
The brokerage believes that the company is well positioned for strong sales and earnings growth this year, driven by new product introductions, such as the iPad 3.
Morgan Stanley, which raised its price target on the stock to $515, said the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 will help maintain sales momentum in 2012.
The company founded by late Silicon Valley titan Steve Jobs -- who died in October after a years-long battle with cancer -- sold 37.04 million iPhones, its flagship product, and 15.43 million iPad tablets in the quarter.
iPad strength was encouraging in the face of lower cost competition from Amazon.Com Inc, and an impending iPad 3 launch should help Apple to continue to drive growth and maintain share in the tablet market, UBS said.
J.P. Morgan Securities, which sees iPad as a "budding growth engine", said that while the magnitude of the iPad beat was not as big as the iPhone's, the resurgence suggests that there is more than just one major product cycle at Apple.
Citigroup, which raised its price target on Apple stock by $100 to $600, expects "another stellar product cycle this year with an iPad refresh in March".
JP Morgan believes that the underlying strength related to iPhone and iPad market penetration has staying power, and expects shares of Apple to appreciate in the near term.
Apple shares rose 8 percent to about $452 in extended trade on Tuesday -- following the earnings report. The stock, which set a record high of $431.36 earlier this month, closed at $420.41 on the Nasdaq.