Apple's shares closed today at 27, up 7/8. Yesterday, it rose 2-1/16 to close at 26-1/8. The stock has traded as low as 12-3/4 and as high as 29 3/4 during the past 52 weeks.
As reported last week, Apple's stock has been rising in the wake of the company's decision to drop Newton--as well as other efforts by acting CEO Steve Jobs to get Apple back on track. Today, for example, Microsoft disclosed plans for unifying Java applications on Windows and Macintosh systems.
Jobs also has removed Apple from the cloning business, bought Power Computing's Mac business, and led the company to sell its products to customers directly via its Web site. The company posted a long-awaited profit in the first fiscal quarter as a result.
By contrast, Compaq's stock has been falling since it warned Friday that first-quarter revenue would be flat--well below Wall Street's expectations. Compaq closed at 25-9/16 in today's trading, up 3/16.
For the year to date, Apple's stock has appreciated 99 percent, compared with 52.4 percent for Dell, -9.5 percent for Compaq, -5.3 percent for IBM, and -2.8 percent for Hewlett-Packard.
