Apple Stock Reaches All Time High Ahead of iPhone 5 Launch (AAPL)

Apple’s Stock (AAPL) price hit an all time high of $413.23 yesterday before settling down to $411.63 at market close. This all time high comes as Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 in October and under the watch of new CEO Tim Cook.

In after hours trading Apple stock has jumped back up to $415 at the time of this writing, marking a new high.

Apple’s stock price translates into a market cap of 381.62 Billion dollars, beating out Exxon Mobile and Microsoft. This all time high, and increase in market cap comes from a focus on mobile. Even Apple’s computers take mobility into account in many ways.

You can see the effect of mobile devices like the iPhone and the iPad on Apple’s market cap in this chart below.

Despite a 5% drop in stock prices when Steve Jobs resigned as the CEO of Apple, investors have warmed to the idea fo Tim Cook as the new company leader. This suggests that the Apple stock price had already taken Jobs’ departure into account.

If you had purchased Apple stock the day after Steve Jobs announced his resignation, you would have made a cool $35 a share, in just a few weeks.

With the launch of the iPhone 5 expected in October, we will see another day of reckoning for Apple Stock. This product announcement will give investors a chance to see how Tim Cook performs on stage as the main attraction.

When the iPhone 5 release date is finally here, investors will also have a chance to see how consumers feel about the new iPhone, which is up against its toughest competition yet.