Apple share price gains as hype builds up ahead of major event

Apple Inc, the worlds most valuable company, is already reaping rewards from the yet-to-come official presentation of its latest gadgets, as investors bump up their valuation of Apples stock in pre-market and European trade.

In just a few hours Apple will take central stage and keep corporate and consumer eyes locked at this pivotal event in the companys history, the second release since CEO Tim Cook took the helm, and held with a backdrop of record-high stock of the company.

“They’re on top of the world,” said Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies Inc., said for Bloomberg. “Wall Street and the customers have embraced the fact that this is Tim’s company — he’s proven that he not only can pick up the mantle of Steve Jobs but advance it.”

The new releases are hinted to be the companys best lineup in its almost 25-year history, though any details are, as always, kept hidden from the public until the official presentation, as the company keeps to its now-traditional secretive, almost mythical, atmosphere in the buildup these events.

The companys new flagship smartphone, the iPhone 6, will be unveiled at the presentation. “Unveiled” is a quite accurate statement, as very little is know about the new device, though it is said to feature services to allow its users to the device to make mobile payments with debit- or credit-cards, adding a “mobile-wallet” functionality to the iPhone 6.

The company is also set to release a new iWatch wearable, projected to wrap up as much as 10 million sales in its first year alone. The fitness-tracking device is forecast to cause a reshuffling in the wearable markets, though any details on the device itself are still unknown.

“We think Apple’s pipeline is finally going to satisfy those who have wondered if the company has any new products,” Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management, said for Reuters. “The stock price has been rallying as investors are beginning to believe that there is an incredible pipeline of products” at Apple.

iCloud security

The Cupertino, California-based company has recently been hit by security issues, as a number of nude photos of celebrities were acquiried from iCloud and leaked to the internet. Apple subsequently denied accusations of negligence or misconduct, patched up its service and updated its policy regarding hack attempts.

Every major player in the mobile devices market has already held their own presentation of new products or services. Major rival Samsung, as well as smaller competitors like Sony and Microsoft revealed new flagships in the past few weeks, as they struggled to gain some publicity before Apple steals the show.

Apple Inc was down 0.62% at close on Monday, but had added more than 0.8% in pre-market trade in New York today, while the companys stock in Frankfurt was up 0.79% by 12:17 GMT. As of the last closing price in New York, the company is valued at $588.97bn, keeping its status as the worlds most valuable company with a massive ~41% lead on the second-top company.

According to a Financial Times survey, 43 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Apple Inc. have a median target of $107.00, with a high estimate of $139.00 and a low estimate of $51.43. The median estimate represents a 8.78% increase from the last price of $98.36.