Apple bulls start looking beyond the iPod

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Money managers who own shares of Apple Computer Inc. -- and the Wall Street analysts who follow the company -- believe firmly that Chief Executive Steve Jobs has more iPod magic up his sleeve. That faith in Jobs as a consumer-product visionary has helped drive Apple's stock price up 76% from its mid-July lows. Its shares closed Friday not far from the all-time high of $93.16 they touched Nov. 27.

Yet even those who are bullish on prospects for the technology giant say Apple's reliance on its handheld music player to power sales and profit growth cannot sustain it forever. "We believe Apple needs to find new areas of growth," wrote Caris & Co. analyst Shebly Seyrafi in a Thursday note to clients.
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