Apple Shares Hit Record High

The shares for Apple Inc hit a record high on Friday, caused by what an analyst from Topeka Capital Markets is calling “iPhone 5 fever.” Even though customers have to wait up to three weeks or even a month to receive their orders, people from all over the world jumped at the chance to pre-order. The iPhone starts shipping on Friday, September 21. The three US carriers that sell the iPhone 5: Sprint Nextel Corp, Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. are showing delays between one week and a month. According to reuters.com, Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said that the pre-orders “have been incredible” and “we've been completely blown away by the customer response.” iPhone 5 pre-orders sold out in one hour. In response to the “iPhone 5 fever,” shares hit an all-time high at $696.98 and then closed at 1.2 percent higher with $691.28. Wall Street analysts are predicting that Apple could potentially sell more than 42 million iPhone 5s this year, but the early sell-out may cause problems with shortened iPhone 5 supply. A source familiar with Sharp Corp, the company that supplies the screens for the smartphones, has fallen behind in output. There’s no information on how far behind they actually have fallen, or if it will negatively impact production and shipping of the iPhone 5.