"Kaufman Brothers was recently out with a note on Apple (AAPL) -- a long-term holdings on our Recommended List -- with analyst Shaw Wu upgrading his price target to $374 from $350," notes Geoffrey Seiler.

The editor of BullMarket.com, explains, "The biggest reason for Wu's upgrade was the continued momentum of the iPad. The analyst has a "buy" rating on the stock.

"He said, 'In sum, our sources indicate that iPads are likely to surprise on the upside due to better availability of screens and continued strong demand. Our analysis indicates that this alone is enough to drive significant upside to consensus estimates.'

Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) CEO Ed Colligan was reported to have laughed off the idea of a smart-phone created by any company, including Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). He seemed "downright nonchalant about rumors that Apple may introduce a mobile phone to the market in the coming year."

Memo To Ed Colligan: WAKE UP! Apple's phone, as reported yesterday in USA Today, is closer than ever to becoming reality. American Technology Research analyst, Shaw Wu said, "From a technical standpoint, the phone is pretty much done. It's a big endeavor and we believe it's beyond speculation."

Look out Ed Colligan (and the folks at RIM), Apple took over the digital music industry, has regained its brand esteem in the computer biz, and it is poised to make some noise in the mobile phone sector too. Did I hear a pin drop?

Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) closed today at $74.63, up 41 cents or 0.55% on a day where the stock price just marched steadily and slowly upwards.

The big positive news for Apple was ThinkEquity's Jonathan Hoopes keeping a 'Buy' rating on Apple because he thinks everyone is overreacting about first-quarter fears on Apple sales. This general optimism is repeated by analyst Shaw Wu at American Technology Research, who anticipates increased MacBook sales and iPod rebound sales due to the iPod Nanos.

The options crisis may slow the stock's rise, but as Hoopes said and Macworld UK points out, Apple's last options payout was in 2002 after which it ceased the practice. This isn't a scandal in the sense that Apple did something no other company did and is being dragged out into the light. Eighty or more other corporations are being investigated and dragging out the process. Apple has done their own investigation, cleaned house, and is moving on. And the stock price is reflecting that.