Over $464 in after-hours trading

Apple stock continues its steady rise in light of its stunning Q1 2012 (calendar Q4 2011) results in all three of its major product categories. AAPL pushed past its previous record closing high of $455.12 on Friday to end Monday at $463.97 and a market capitalization of $432.59 billion, the most highly-valued publicly-traded company in the world. The stock is edging even higher in after-hours trading, currently at $464.55 as of 9pm EST.

The stock has been on a steady climb since the company announced its record-shattering results in a conference call to analysts on January 25th. The stock jumped from the $420 range to the mid-$440s the next day and has risen fairly steadily since then.

Apple beat even optimistic analyst predictions in all three categories (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and has continues to show strong promise for continuing growth, with an expected iPad refresh out later this quarter, normal Mac product refreshes (including, some rumors indicate, to the more-popular notebook lineup), speculation that Apple will enter the HDTV market with a branded product, and exceptional growth in China and Latin America among other markets.

AAPL rose $4.29 cents today, just shy of a full percentage point. Consensus estimates for the stock in 2012 call for it to reach $562.96, an expression of confidence by analysts that Apple can continue its winning ways for the foreseeable future. The company's price-to-earning (P/E) multiple continues to hover at around the 13 mark.

by MacNN Staff