Investors are waking up to Apple's new valuation

Apple's shares have more than doubled over the last year, but the rapid increase isn't just the result of some temporary irrational exuberance. Instead, as a variety of analysts and observers have noted, it means that investors have formed a new understanding of Apple as a company, shedding their formerly bleak pessimism that valued Apple far lower than the various consumer electronics rivals it has been outperforming.