Apple (AAPL) was already trading above $630 a share — a 19-month high — Monday when Credit Suisse’s Kulbinder Garcha raised his price target from $560 to $600.
In effect, he was telling his clients that Apple’s shares were overbought, and that over the next 12 months they should start falling — if not all the way to $560, as he predicted last month, then at least to $600.
His clients may have got the message, but the Street did not. Apple shares rose $8.89 (1.4%) Tuesday and were up more than $9 a share to $647.89 in mid-afternoon trading Wednesday.
Garcha was not alone, as the blue portion of the attached spreadsheet suggests. At least four other analysts raised or reiterated price targets after WWDC that what were lower than that day’s asking price, including Needham’s Charlie Wolf at $590.
“I suspect the stock is moving up in front of WWDC,” Wolf said last week. “If Apple does not introduce new products, the price could fall back to $550-$575. If Apple pulls a surprise, I may have to respond. But I will at least have a reason for doing so.”
Wolf may not have seen a reason, but several analysts did, including Goldman Sach’s Bill Shope (to $720), RBC’s Amit Dayanani ($675) and Macquarie’s Ben Schachter ($665).
Analysts: These numbers are as up-to-date as I could make them. Corrections appreciated.
See also: Apple’s pre-split share price jumps ahead of the Street