Apple Hits New All-Time High

Apple and Qualcomm's closing prices have been added to this story.

CUPERTINO, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Apple (AAPL) shares hit a new high on Tuesday, boosted by a price target hike from analyst firm Think Equity.

The consumer tech giant's shares, which recently surpassed $600 for the first time, briefly reached $616.28 during Tuesday trading. Apple's stock closed at $614.48.

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO

Apple's latest uptick was fueled by ThinkEquity's decision to raise its Apple price target from $600 to $700. The new target is "based on a positive launch of [Apple's] new iPad and upcoming new products including the iPhone5 and iTV," explained ThinkEquity analyst Mark McKechnie, in a note released on Tuesday.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm has enjoyed stellar demand for its new iPad, selling a massive 3 million of the devices within the first few days of its launch.

Apple shares have gained more than 51% this year, far outpacing the Nasdaq's gain of 20.15%,

ThinkEquity also shrugged off recent chatter about the new iPad's heat generation. "Similar to early concerns around the iPhone 4S, we do not believe it will impact the ramp of the new iPad, and we see an intermediate 'fix' in the form of newer 28 nanometer chips from Qualcomm (QCOM) in the second half of 2012," explained McKechnie.

Shares of Qualcomm, which is one of Apple's key component suppliers, closed down 10 cents, or 0.15%, at $68.49 on Tuesday.

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

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