FORTUNE — After Apple (AAPL) reported its March quarter earnings last week, Goldman Sachs’ Bill Shope — like many analysts who follow the company — made a modest increase in his 12-month price target, to $620 per share from $610.
On Wednesday, less than a week later, Shope raised his target again, this time to $635 per share. He made no secret of the fact that the second increase was based on details he’d learned about Apple’s massive $12 billion bond offering Tuesday — an offering his firm happened to handle.
Not every Apple watcher is so sanguine about the company’s prospects — or the bond offering. (For a real downer, see Mint Partners’ Bill Blain in Barron’s Tech Trader Daily.)
In fact, 31 of the 45 analysts (69%) in our survey have Apple price targets that are lower than Shope’s, and a ten of them (22%) have targets that are actually underwater.
These analysts are telling their clients, in effect, that they should expect Apple’s shares to be worth less in 12 months than they are today — despite last quarter’s 15% increase in earnings per share, the 7-to-1 stock split coming in June and CEO Tim Cook’s promise of new products this year.
Below: Our current list of Apple targets — as fresh and up-to-date as we can get it — from a high of $777 to a low of $500. After June 2, divide by seven. (Analysts: Corrections appreciated.)
