Biz Brief: Apple Stock Hits All-Time High

Apple (AAPL) shares hit an all-time high today at $272.90, giving the company a market cap of $274 billion. News that the company has sold over 2 million iPads and received 600,000 pre-orders for the new iPhone 4 have drawn investors into the stock.

Several analysts believe that the new iPad could add $3 billion to revenue this calendar year. It sells for an average of $500. The latest versions of the iPhone should create a new round of upgrades and first-time buyers. Apple has decided to release the products overseas more quickly than with previous ones presumably to drive sales more rapidly.

This morning, according toBarron's, "Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty repeated her Overweight rating on the stock, asserting that the installed base of iPhones should rise to over 100 million by the end of 2011, from about 30 million at the end of 2009." The forecast was on top of several other positive analyst comments about the shares.