The most valuable company ever just got more valuable.
Shares of Apple hit an all-time high Monday, approaching $700 per share, after the maker of iPhones and iPads won a bitter patent fight against Samsung Electronics.
Apple’s share price was lately up 2.1 percent at $677 on the Nasdaq market after rising to an all-time high of $680.87 earlier in the day. Apple’s share price has risen 68 percent so far this year.
A U.S. jury in California on Friday found that Samsung had infringed on Apple’s mobile-device patents, ordering the South Korea-based Samsung to pay Apple more than $1.05 billion in damages.
Analysts say the ruling could boost Apple’s position in the smart phone market ahead of the expected launch of its new iPhone model this fall. Smart phone companies using Google’s Android operating system, a rival to Apple’s iPhone, may be required to consider design changes to their products.
The potential impact on the Android smartphone system, which could disrupt the balance of power in the mobile-device market, boosted shares of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, up more than 2 percent Monday, while Nokia, another handset company, saw its shares rise 8 percent.
Google's share price fell 1.2 percent to $670, while Samsung’s stock price was lately down 7.5 percent, wiping more than $12 billion off the South Korean company's market valuation.
