BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Apple(AAPL) shares notched yet another all-time high on Monday even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled nearly 100 points, an impressive comeback for a stock that suffered its worst first-half performance in three years.
Apple, which is due to report quarterly results after the closing bell today, lost some of its shine earlier this year on worries the company could sustain its high growth rate. Apple didn't hold to its schedule of launching a new iPhone iteration in June. Competition from Google(GOOG) and other handset and tablet makers intensified. Perhaps most importantly, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took yet another leave of absence for health reasons. 
By June 20, Apple shares hit a low of $310.50, 3.7% below the stock's closing price at the end of 2010. Through the first six months of the year, Apple shares had their worst first-half performance since 2008, when the worst recession since the Great Depression bruised equities. Since that trough, Apple's stock has roared back, breaking through $374 to a new record high. Apple added $8 billion to its market cap during Monday's session alone.
"The 'Steve Jobs' factor was what hurt the stock in the first six months of the year," says Bryan Keane, co-portfolio manager of the Alpine Global Consumer Growth Fund(AWCGX). "But there's also a lot of talk now about what's next. At this point, it's not completely clear in terms of a product perspective. Investors are in limbo in terms of future growth rates for Apple going forward."
Keane, who helped launch the Alpine Global Consumer Growth Fund earlier this year and is a holder of Apple, says it's unclear what the next major product offering will be from Apple. The iPad 2 launched in March to much fanfare and the next iteration of the wildly popular iPhone is expected to debut in September. While Mac computer sales have been robust, Keane questions what Apple could have up its sleeve next.
"The iCloud was anticipated and it's up in the air if it will have the same impact the iPhone and iPad had," Keane says, referring to the cloud computing service Apple unveiled last month. "They're secretive about what their new products are, so it's difficult to determine the future growth rate." Apple boasted a sales growth rate of 52% in fiscal 2010, with net income jumping 70%.
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