All-Aboard Apple (AAPL) on Bullet Train to $100

After starting the day choppy amid its seven-for-one stock split, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares are gaining traction mid-day. The stock is up 1.5% to $93.60 and appears to have a $100 magnet, or $700 pre-split.

While the stock split changes nothing fundamentally, it could broaden retail interest and psychologically make it easier for the stock price to climb, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in his May 28th price target hike to $700 ($100 post-split).

Historically, Bernstein's analysis points to evidence that companies that split their shares outperform in the near-term. "Bernstein's Quantitative Research team has found that a stock split is historically (1950 – May 2002) a positive signal that reinforces momentum and produces positive relative returns over the ensuing month, quarter and year. On a smaller, but more recent, sample we have found that companies that split their stock tend to outperform on a relative basis over the ensuing month."

In addition to the stock split, Sacconaghi likes Apple because of four other factors: Apple's stock is highly anticipatory around new product cycles; investors are collectively, significantly underweight Apple; little risk of Apple missing estimates for the June quarter, and; Apple's valuation is still very low compared with the market overall and even the broader technology sector.

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