Analysts raise Apple targets

APPLE Computer, the maker of the iPod music player, had its share price target lifted 29% by Piper Jaffray & Co on expectations the company will keep gaining market share in music devices and personal computers.

The target price was raised to $103 (€85.40) from $80 (€66.30), analysts Gene Munster and Michael Olson wrote to clients. They have an "outperform" rating on the stock.

Apple - based in Cupertino, California and which also has a facility in Cork city - on January 10 posted first-quarter revenue exceeding expectations, as iPod shipments tripled and computer purchases topped one million.

The iPod has driven renewed interest in Apple's more-profitable Macintosh personal computers, and the company this week announced new Mac models and an iPod remote control with a radio tuner.

"We expect Apple can outperform the competition for multiple years, assuming the current pace of innovation continues," the Piper Jaffray analysts wrote.