In my opinion, Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL) is probably the most innovative company in existence. It seems that every new product the company releases becomes the next must-have gadget for the average consumer. The stock is off almost 70 points from its highs set back in the summer of 2008. I believe now is a terrific time to pick up some Apple stock before it heads higher.

I just love almost everything Apple's management does. A recent example is the move to sell some Macs in Wal-Mart stores. This isn't an earth-shattering decision, but a prudent one nonetheless which will likely pad the bottom line once its in place. According to Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes, more accessories are showing up on the shelves of Wal-Mart after the successful launch of the iPhone in their stores. Consumers are extremely cost-conscious these days, and have been going to Wal-Mart in droves.

I was extremely impressed with the company's fiscal second-quarter earnings report in which Apple beat the consensus estimate by 24 cents. This marked the second quarter in a row that earnings beat estimates by more than 20%. It was the best non-holiday quarter in the company's history which is even more impressive given the tough economic backdrop. Apple also sold 11 million iPods, which was a March quarter unit record. Of course, the iPhone was huge sell as well, registering 123% sales growth to almost 3.8 million handsets.

A measure of management effectiveness is how gross margins fared. Apple certainly did not disappoint in this area either. Total company gross margins were 36.4%, which was 390 basis points better than its previous guidance. This was due to falling hardware component cost and strong sales of higher-margin products.

CFO Peter Oppenheimer had this to say, "We are very pleased with our record March quarter results and how well Apple is performing in this economy. We are extremely enthusiastic about the launch of the iPhone OS 3.0 and can’t wait to get it into customers’ hands this summer. We are also very excited about the other products in our pipeline. We remain confident in our strategy and are working hard to deliver the world’s most innovative and extraordinary products."

Over the past month, current-year earnings estimates have increased 16 cents to $5.35 per share. Next year's numbers have also risen 23 cents per share to $6.21. An amazing 30 out of the 31 analysts have raised their guidance over the past month. The stock is currently trading at 20x next year's estimate, slightly above its long-term growth rate of 18%. I believe that there is good upside to the shares over the next year as long as the company keeps executing. I see the stock between $150-$160 in the next 12 months.