Apple share price flirts with $200

Computerworld - Apple Inc. shares broke the $200 mark for the first time ever today, then slipped back under the bar to close at $198.95.

The Cupertino, Calif. company's stock price breached the $200 barrier before 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday and peaked at $200.96. Within an hour and a half, however, it had dropped below $200 again. At the bell, shares were up 15 cents for the day, to $198.95.

In the last 52 weeks the stock swung from a low of $76.77 to Wednesday's high of $200.96. A year ago today, Apple's shares closed at $81.51

The stock's increase was paced by several significant product launches during 2007, including the iPhone's in June and Leopard's in October, as well as refreshes of its computer and iPod line-ups.

In the same year-to-year period, rival Microsoft Corp.'s stock price went from $29.99 on Dec. 26, 2006 to $36.61 Wednesday, while Google Inc.'s shares jumped from $457.53 to $710.84.

Read more about Hardware in Computerworld's Hardware Topic Center.