Apple stock nears record high

Apple has discovered its groove once more.

The iPhone maker’s inventory hit $133.82 in early buying and selling Monday, placing Apple lower than $1 away from its intraday buying and selling excessive of $134.54, reached in April 2015. Apple’s inventory ended the day at $133.29, beating its earlier document closing value of $133, set in February 2015.

The inventory surge, pushing Apple (AAPL) to a $700 billion market cap, comes amid renewed optimism for the iPhone.

Goldman Sachs raised its value goal for the inventory on Monday, citing the chance of “main new options” like “3D sensing” being added to the following iPhone mannequin, in response to an investor notice supplied to CNNMoney.

Apple’s earlier excessive was set six months after it launched the redesigned iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, kicking off what CEO Tim Prepare dinner described because the “mom of all upgrades.”

Since then, nonetheless, Apple has bucked its custom of overhauling the iPhone each different yr. The latest fashions available on the market right now look almost an identical to the iPhones obtainable in late 2014.

The lengthy wait, mixed with this yr marking the iPhone’s tenth anniversary, has solely raised expectations that Apple is about to considerably overhaul its smartphone and reignite demand.

Associated: Tim Prepare dinner: ‘Apple wouldn’t exist with out immigration’

Apple’s annual gross sales fell within the 2016 fiscal yr for the primary time since 2001 as iPhone gross sales, nonetheless the vast majority of its enterprise, declined in three consecutive quarters.

Apple even minimize its CEO’s pay by 15% as a result of firm’s failure to fulfill its efficiency objectives for each gross sales and income.

However that shedding streak simply ended.

Apple gross sales began rising once more within the December quarter, pushed by stronger demand for the iPhone — significantly for the bigger and costlier iPhone 7 Plus.

The corporate bought 78.3 million iPhones for the quarter, setting a brand new document. At the very least a few of that could be as a result of Samsung’s smartphone recall woes.

Mark Moskowitz, an analyst with William Blair, wrote in an investor notice this month, “Samsung’s Be aware 7 struggles doubtless helped.”

The iPhone is not the one purpose Wall Road is happy about Apple. There’s additionally President Trump.

Regardless of Trump clashing with Apple throughout the marketing campaign, traders are actually optimistic Apple will profit from a minimum of one Trump proposal: slicing taxes on money that U.S. companies convey again from their abroad accounts.

Apple presently has $230 billion in money held in international accounts. If Trump and Congress make it cheaper for Apple to convey that cash again, it might be used for acquisitions and buybacks.

CNNMoney (New York) First printed February 13, 2017: 12:24 PM ET