Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is telling anyone who would listen that Apple’s shares are likely to double in value, and that Apple stock should be trading at $203, Reuters reported. Icahn is urging Apple’s board to buy back as many shares as their $133 billion cash reserves will allow.
“We believe Apple is dramatically undervalued in today’s market, and the more shares repurchased now, the more each remaining shareholder will benefit, ” Icahn said in a letter to Apple’s board released today.
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“At today’s price, Apple is one of the best investments we have ever seen from a risk reward perspective, and the size of our position is a testament to this. This investment represents the largest position in our investment history, ” Icahn wrote.
Apple shares have not doubled, not even close, in 2014. They have gained 27 percent since January, trading today at $101.49.
Icahn himself owns 53 million shares, according to Reuters, and is one of Apple’s top 10 investors.
In his letter Icahn said he believes the Apple Watch—the first new thing to have come out of Apple since 2010 (when the iPad conquered the planet)—will kick the company to the top of the world again.
Reuters cites Analyst Aaron Rakers, who has a buy on Apple, who responded to Icahn’s letter saying “Apple clearly has an excessive cash and investment balance.”
“We think a tender offer is simply a good method of conducting a large repurchase in an expedited time frame, but the exact method and the exact size is not the key issue for us, ” Rakers said.
