Apple Inc shares reached their all-time high on Thursday as excitement builds over the expected release of its tablet computer.
Although Apple has never acknowledged that a device exists, anticipation is peaking as the company enters the new year.
Option traders exchanged about 275,000 contracts in Apple, above its average daily turnover, as calls outpaced puts by nearly two to one, option analytics firm Trade Alert said
“Investors are excited about an anticipated release of an Apple tablet,” said William Lefkowitz, options strategist at brokerage firm vFinance Investments in New York.
“People are expecting this to be a product that would allow Apple to continue its tremendous growth. In addition, Apple stock hit a new high today and looks very strong on a technical basis,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported on its blog that the company had rented a stage at a venue in San Francisco and will make a “major product announcement” on Jan. 26.
The report, which cited people familiar with the plans, did not say whether Apple would introduce the tablet at the event.
The tablet could be a touch-screen device that resembles a larger iPhone or iPod touch, and could cost anywhere from US$500 to US$1,000, analysts have said.
There is a 50 percent chance Apple will announce the tablet next month, with a shipping date by the end of March, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said on Wednesday.
The tablet could be released in late March or April, Oppenheimer & Co analyst Yair Reiner said earlier this month.
Although most analysts have not included the tablet in their financial estimates, many expect it to be significant for Apple, complementing its portfolio of iPhones, Mac computers and iPods.
Reiner said the device could add US$0.25 to US$0.38 to Apple’s earnings per share.
The median price target on Apple is US$242.50, roughly 16 percent higher than its closing share price on Thursday.
Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple rose as high as US$209.35, passing their previous all-time high of US$208.71, before closing up 3.4 percent at US$209.04 on the NASDAQ.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique