Will Central Banks Drive Apple Shares to $1,000?

March 02, 2012

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continue to climb higher as a seemingly endless supply of positive news hits headlines. On Thursday, shares reached another all-time high just below $550. In fact, shares have closed at a new all-time high for six consecutive trading days. In addition to new iPad speculation, Apple shares may receive a longer-term boost as central banks begin to cash in on the iCraze.

According to Digitimes, Apple is expected to launch a smaller sized iPad along with the iPad 3 on March 7 at a special event held in San Francisco. In a strategic move likely made to stay ahead of new Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 8-based tablets and Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle, the smaller iPad is expected to have a 7.85-inch screen and retail for $200-$250.

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Although Apple shares have had a record run for years, Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder believes shares have the potential to reach $1,000. “You know, people talk about $1,000 stock price…you know, at first you want to doubt it but I actually believe that, and I don’t really follow stock markets,” he said. In addition to new products and hedge funds driving shares towards $1,000, central banks may also have a hand in the matter.

Bloomberg reports that beginning March 1, the Bank of Israel will begin a pilot program to invest a portion of its foreign currency reserves in U.S. equities. The initial investment into equities will equal about $1.5 billion and be made through UBS (NYSE:UBS) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) financial institutions. At a later stage, the investment amount could equal nearly $8 billion. Bank of Israel’s spokesman Yossi Saadon explained that the investments will be made in equity index trackers, which will include stocks such as Apple.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Eric McWhinnie at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com