The Nasdaq-100 PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) rallied more than 2% at Wednesday’s open to lead the major indexes. Top holding Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) jumped 10% after another quarter of strong earnings from the tech and market bellwether.
“Apple had another blowout quarter, with revenue and earnings per shares way above expectations,” said FBN Securities analysts. “Apple is still executing very well.”
The solid showing alleviated concerns in recent weeks that had pushed Apple below $560 a share and the 50-day moving average. FBN, which has an outperform rating on Apple, raised its target price on the stock to $800.
Apple represented 17.8% of QQQ as of April 24.
Morningstar analyst Michael Holt said it was the second-best quarter ever for Apple, with total revenue growth of 59%, more than 80% growth in iPhone shipments and 150% year-over-year growth in iPad shipments.