Forget $1,000! Don't Sell Apple Until It 'Drives' to $1,500

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's hard to imagine that just a little over two months ago the world was coming to an end. The stock market's favorite superhero, tech giant Apple(AAPL) was trading at $522 after having reached its new 52-week high of $644.

While that was (only) a $122 drop in its stock price, it represented (only) a 22% decline in overall value. I say "only" because what many investors quickly lost perspective of is the fact that the stock didn't break $400 until Dec. 23 and remarkably less than two months later it reached $500 and five weeks after that it was at $600.

The stock needed a break. What better time than in the month of May when it is known to be the optimal peak selling period?

Also for a bit of perspective on its close of $604 this past Friday, the stock was still up a remarkable 47% for the year.

So what exactly has all of the commotion been about? Plus if investors consider that even at its recent low of $522 the stock was still up 30% year to date it seems the market has broadly forgotten why it fell in love with the stock in the first place -- but that's a separate issue altogether. The question investors want to know is where the stock heading next and should it be accumulated ahead of earnings?

I'm Calling Shotgun

Apple has always been the story that just appears too good to be true. Judging by recent investor activity, it seems some skeptics want to see if it can still produce rabbits out of its hat. By sheer virtue of its success, there are many who are simply waiting for the company to fall flat on its face. They are not that hard to find and are fairly easy to spot as they are often seen wearing Research in Motion(RIMM) , Microsoft(MSFT) or Google(GOOG) paraphernalia.

Be that as it may, the stock has also seen several analyst upgrades this quarter as well as some extremely bullish price targets including Stuart O'Gorman of Henderson Global who has set a target of $1,200 on the stock, followed by Brian While of Topeka Capital with a target of $1,111. Overall, of the stock has an average price target of $724 according to a recent poll posted on CNNMoney.

These projections sound great but with the stock still 100% below its most bullish projections what everyone wants to know is where will its next neat idea come from? What can it possibly reveal during the conference call to send its shares soaring again to new heights much less to these enormous levels?