On Wednesday, Tim Cook finally put the rumors and speculation to rest by unveiling the new iPad at a special event in San Francisco. The new iPad comes with an improved display, camera and new high-speed 4G LTE network capabilities. Although many of the new features were expected, many analysts upgraded their price targets on Apple Inc. shares.

Goldman Sachs , which has Apple on its Conviction Buy List, raised its price target on Apple shares from $600 to $660. In addition to the introduction of the new iPad, Apple cut the price on its iPad 2 from $499 to $399. The price cut is expected to place more pressure on Amazon , Google and Microsoft . An analyst at the bank explained, “Significantly, we believe the new iPad and the lower price point for the iPad 2 will enable Apple to continue its momentum and tablet market dominance, and we continue to expect rapid installed base growth in 2012 and beyond.” Goldman also raised fiscal 2012 EPS from $40.36 to $42.52.

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Canaccord Genuity also believes Apple shares are headed north of $600. The firm reiterated its Buy rating on Apple with a price target of $665. Analsyt, T. Michael Walkley, explained, “We attended the Apple iPad launch event and were impressed with both the features and pricing of the new iPad relative to competing tablet offerings announced at CES and MWC. We believe Apple will maintain its dominant market share of the fast-growing tablet market despite increased competition. Further, our February checks indicate strong global iPhone sales, and we believe Apple is growing its smartphone market share.”

Even with the latest round of price target raises, Apple shares have been relatively quiet since the special press event. However, looking at past product launches, this is fairly typical for the tech giant. According to data from Wells Fargo, the table below highlights Apple’s performance after several key product launches.

On average, Apple shares gain almost 2 percent in a week after a major product launch. However, after just one month, Apple shares are typically in the red by .64 percent. Apple shares typically suffer from buy the rumor, sell the news trading mentality. Shares are driven up by product speculation, but ease off highs as the new product takes center stage. In the longer run though, Apple shares have continued to climb higher as the company turns in impressive earnings. Year-to-date, Apple shares have gained more than 30 percent. Over the past three years, shares have surged 458 percent.

While Apple shares currently trade near $535 per share, some investment firms see shares breaking through $700. In light of the new iPad, Barclays Capital increased its price target from $630 to $710. The firm also expects earnings for 2015 to come in at $75 per share, with revenue around $300 billion. FBN Securities’ Shebly Seyrafi actually set a new Street-high price target on Apple by raising the price target from $650 to $730. The analyst also maintains an Outperform rating on the stock. The new price target from Seyrafi implies a potential upside of about 36 percent.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Eric McWhinnie at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com