Optimism From Morgan Stanley Pushes Apple Shares to All-Time High

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares closed at an all-time high of $100.53 on Tuesday following positive reports from Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets analysts. The previous all-time closing high was $702.10, which, after the 7-to-1 stock split, adjusts to $100.30.

In a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty gave a strong endorsement to Apple. Most of her optimism derives from the large amount of sales she expects the iPhone 6 and the iWatch to generate. Coupled with this, she believes both products will have stronger margins than previous products, specifically the iPhone 5. She expects the iWatch to ship 41 million units in its

first year, and possibly as high as 60 million. She also noted that iPhone loyalty has increased from 73% in December 2011 to 90% this past March.

Additionally, she expects the current low institutional ownership of Apple stock (2.3%, compared to Apple's high of 4.5% in 2012) to lead to growth. Huberty also points to Apple's recent increase in research and development expenditure and acquisition of talented new personnel like Dr. Dre and Angela Ahrendts, among others, as positive signs. Despite all this, Huberty remained with her previous target price of $110.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani has increased his estimated iPhone 6 sales to 65 million. According to him, "Most supply chain data is pointing towards Apple gearing up to ramp 70-80 million iPhone 6 units across the two form factors (4.7"/5.5")." He also raised his price target for AAPL to $110, describing the supply increase as "a notable uptick from last year when the supply chain ramped 50-60 million units."

As of this writing AAPL is at $100.68, slightly ahead of yesterday's close.