New Apple Stock Price Predictions See AAPL Soaring to $200

Of all the Apple stock price predictions out there, this may be the boldest: AAPL shares will reach $200 within 24 months.

And that bold call belongs to a seasoned market analyst with 33 years of experience - Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald.

He wasn't shy about it, either. He made the call on the FOX Business program "Varney & Co." earlier this month, startling host Stuart Varney.

And no wonder. Most Apple Inc. (Nasdaq; AAPL) stock price predictions are much more conservative, even with the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech titan's stellar performance over the past year. There's lingering concern that Apple has to slow down at some point.

That's why the current consensus one-year target price on AAPL stock is just $142.13, according to Yahoo! Finance. And it's risen considerably. Just 12 months ago, it was $85. Many analysts have had a hard time keeping up with Apple stock, which was trading today (Monday) at $131.52.

The current consensus target is just short of the $1,000 a share equivalent had Apple not done a 7-to-1 stock split last June.  The exact price needed is $142.86. The Fitz-Gerald AAPL stock price prediction of $200 is the equivalent of $1,400 pre-split.

And by the way, AAPL stock at $200 a share blows past another big milestone - a market cap of $1 trillion. That will happen when Apple stock reaches $171.82. At $200, Apple's valuation would be $1.164 trillion.

That's bigger than the combined market caps of the next three largest companies - Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), and PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE: PTR).

Clearly, Fitz-Gerald's Apple stock price predictions are exceptionally daring.

But just why is he so bullish on Apple?

Apple Stock Price Predictions That Hinge on the Apple Watch

It starts with the Apple Watch.

Now, that may seem odd, given that the Watch only went on sale last week and the reviews have not all been favorable. But Fitz-Gerald sees things differently...

"Not a lot of people are thinking about this right now. To them the Apple Watch is another timekeeping device, a duplicate smartphone, or simply a gimmick used in conjunction with your iPhone," Fitz-Gerald said. "I believe the Apple Watch will change how we use information. I don't believe future versions will require close proximity to an iPhone to work. In that sense, it's yet another device in a long line of Apple devices created to fill a need nobody understands they have or know they want and turn it into an industry standard."

Fitz-Gerald sees third parties writing apps and building add-on products that will amplify the value of the Apple Watch.

"The Watch could even take on a life of its own, becoming a Star Trek-like communicator capable of linking, exchanging, storing, and acting upon all near-field data," Fitz-Gerald said.

Plus, because of the way Apple integrates all of its devices and software, the new capabilities of the Watch will enhance the rest of the Apple ecosystem as well. In other words, adding one new product makes all the other products that much more desirable.

For Apple, that means not sales of a new product, but more iPhone sales, more iTunes Store downloads, more Mac sales, and so on.

"All that makes the Apple share price look dirt cheap today and a $1 trillion market cap absolutely obtainable," Fitz-Gerald said.

Other Money Morning experts agree. Defense & Tech Specialist Michael Robinson, for one, made Apple stock price predictions of $1,000 pre-split back in October 2013, or $142.86. The Apple Watch has changed his mind, too.

"After seeing the company's smartwatch and mentally placing it into Apple's ecosystem, I now believe that the stock will go much higher than that," Robinson said. He, too, sees AAPL stock soaring past the $1 trillion valuation mark over the next few years.

"If you don't yet own Apple stock, now's a great time to add to shares and tuck them away," Fitz-Gerald said.

Making Steve Jobs Jealous: Apple is legendary for its fat profit margins, but the margins on the Watch will outshine even those of the flagship iPhone. Even the low-end watches could have profit margins higher than the iPhone. And the gold edition will have margins deep in luxury territory...

NOTE: I'll be live tweeting the Apple earnings conference call tonight. Follow me on Twitter @DavidGZeiler.