Apple Shares Reclaim $500

We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued…. Had a nice conversation with Tim Cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly. — Carl Icahn, August 13, 2013

While still far from the $700 price to which Carl Icahn would like to see them return, Apple shares are trading significantly higher today following the billionaire investor’s Tuesday disclosure of a stake in the company believed to be worth more than $1.5 billion.

Early on Wednesday, Apple shares crossed the $500 mark once again — the first time they’ve done so since January. They are trading at $501.05 as I write this.

A nice pop for the iPhone maker’s stock, which has fallen more than 30 percent from a high of $705.05 set last September. Evidently, now that Icahn believes Apple’s stock to be “undervalued,” the market does as well, though there’s likely a second engine driving today’s run-up: the as-of-yet unannounced Sept. 10 special event at which the company is expected to unveil its next iPhone.