Analyst raises Apple stock price target to $450

Charlie Wolf with Needham & Co. suggests Wall Street's consensus on the technology company's stock is too low despite a climb of almost $100 per share in the past year. Wolf raised his estimates today for what he cites as higher iPad and Mac shipments in the current current and the September quarter.

Previously Wolf forecast Apple would sell 7.5 million iPads in the current fiscal third quarter, but he increased that estimate to 9 million units with the buy recommendation, suggesting Apple has few to no competitors in the tablet space.

While competitors have rushed to launch competing tablets, Wolf stated, they have made an imperceptible dent in the trajectory of iPad sales. They have been unable to undercut the price of the iPad; and they've fallen woefully short in matching its features, easy-to-use and the number of applications written for the device. Indeed, the only risk in our forecast is on the supply, not the demand side.

Translation: Apple is selling all the iPads it can make.

Wolf also increased his Q3 Mac estimate to 4.25 million units from 3.75 million units. Apple is benefitting, of course, from cross-selling to customers, many of whom are becoming first-time Apple product buyers with the iPad and the iPhone. Once they have those products, the natural tendency is to purchase a Mac computer since the products tie together so well.

Apple's stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) is trading at $335.58, up more than 1% ($3.54) on the day.

Apple has also been hot in the news recently over speculation about its next iPhone model, expected to be released in September. One analyst says the company will release both a newly-designed iPhone 5 and a lower-end iPhone 4 in September. The lower end iPhone 4 would provide consumers a cheaper entry into the iPhone realm, operating easier as well with enhanced voice commands for an on the go type model.