Shares in Apple have climbed to more than $500 (£317) after bumper earnings of 20 per cent in the first quarter.

After a 1.9 per cent jump today, Apple’s shares are now worth a record $502.60 each – a far cry from the company’s near bankruptcy in 1997 when shares were worth just $3.19 (£2).

In fact, Apple is now worth $460 billion (£291bn) – a success largely attributed to the late Steve Jobs who took the helm in 1997.

“It reminds us all of the amazing transformation of Apple over the past eight years,” said Timothy Ghriskey, co-founder of asset management business the Solaris Group. He also commented that expectations are that stock may rise as high as $600 per share.

In the days that Apple reported its quarterly results, shares have climbed in value and Bloomberg has reported that its earnings are expanding fast.

Apple’s shares are by no means the most expensive though. In the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Google Inc was at $612.20 along with two other companies with shares at over $512 each.

According to analysts, Apple’s shares are predicted to rise to $575.56 (£365.37).