Will Apple's Stock Split Increase Its Marketability?

Shares of

rose more than eight percent after the company announced a surprise 7-for-1 stock split. As of this writing,

is hovering near $600 -- an achievement not seen since November 2012. Before earnings and the stock split were revealed,

predicted that Apple would remain under pressure and

. Apple seems to have avoided this potential pitfall, but will its success last? "In general, I think that Apple will increase its marketability by decreasing the price of its shares," Gabriel Mengin, CCO of

, told Benzinga. "I think that there's people that are going to be more willing to engage the security in the ballpark of $70 a share than they were when they were potentially priced out at the higher valuation."

Apple hasn't released a new device since the iPad Mini with Retina Display arrived in November 2013. That device was released shortly after the iPad Air, which arrived earlier in the month. The

and

were released two months prior. Apple's 2013 release list also included a new Mac Pro (which arrived in December), along with the usual batch of

and

upgrades. Of these products, only the iPhone 5S and iPad Air seemed to hit it big with consumers. In fact, the iPhone 5S is still helping Apple break sales records six months after its release. iPad sales are beginning to

, but the tablet is still one of the strongest performers on the market. It is, by far, the most successful tablet series available. Regardless, many analysts want Apple to release

, such as an

. But Apple has once again found a way to improve its share price

adding a single new product to its lineup. Now that the company's shares are on the verge of a price cut, that growth might continue -- with or without any additional iDevices. Disclosure: