Edible Apple

With a potential Apple tablet announcement just around the corner, and iPhone sales continuing to impress, analysts have raised their price targets for Apple’s share price accordingly.

Earlier today, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall upped his target for Apple up to $260 from a previous target of $235. In a note to investors, Marshall called Apple a “must-own technology bellwether” and anticipates Apple to report shipment of 11.3 million iPhones for the current quarter. The general consensus on Wall Street is that Apple will have shipped around 8.8 million units during the current quarter, but given Apple’s consistent history of delivering stellar earnings and surprising sales, Marshall may in fact be onto something and pegs international iPhone sales as being a driving force behind his 11.3 million estimate.

Despite the enormous success of the iPhone since inception in July ’07, we strongly believe the device is still in its infancy with respect to penetrating the global post-paid subscriber market. For example, our analysis indicates that while the iPhone currently enjoys 5.0% penetration of [AT&T’s] post-paid subscriber base, the penetration of its current international carrier partners’ post-paid subscriber base is only 0.8%.

Meanwhile, Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid, citing better than expected Mac and iPhone sales, also boosted his target for Apple’s share price to $250, up from a previous target of $245. Whoa,  slow down there, Dougy!

And in a sign that the ball may already be rolling up to the $250 zone, Apple’s stock hit an all-time high earlier today when it hit $213.95 a share.