Lifted by record iPhone sales, shares of Apple broke the $700 barrier on Monday in after-hours trading.
Apple said preorders for the iPhone 5 --
more than 2 million in the first 24 hours -- were more than double those
for the iPhone 4S.
"IPhone 5 pre-orders have
shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S, and the customer
response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal," said a statement from Philip
Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
Shares
of Apple rose 1.2% to $699.78 in regular trading and touched $700.05
after the closing bell. Apple's stock is up 6% since the day before the
company unveiled its latest products.
Apple on
Wednesday took the wraps off its iPhone 5 and showed off more than 200
new features in its upcoming iOS 6 operating system. The company showed
off new features to come in its Siri voice search as well as its maps
technology that will displace Google Maps.
Despite
advances from Samsung, the world's most valuable company faces what has
become a ritual retail rush from the Apple faithful. People are
already lining up outside Manhattan's Fifth Avenue Apple Store to buy an
iPhone 5 when it goes on sale Friday. Those who pre-ordered the new
phone may have a two-week wait for their online purchase to arrive as
demand exceeds current supply.
Some industry
analysts are adjusting higher their forecasts for iPhone 5 sales. "Given
the record pre-orders, we believe Apple could ship 9 million to 10
million iPhone 5 models by Sept. 29, or the last day of fiscal 2012,
vs. our initial 6 million estimate," says Canaccord Genuity technology
analyst Michael Walkley. Canaccord has a $797 price target on the stock.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicts sales of the iPhone 5 could reach as many as 10 million in the first week.
On
Friday, the iPhone 5 will become available in the U.S., U.K., Canada,
France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. On Sept. 28,
Apple will launch in 22 additional countries and the phone will be
available in 100 countries by the end of the year.
USA Today