BusinessWeek’s latest Inside Wall Street column states that Apple shares should rise starting this month. A hedge-fund manager who has been buying Apple shares said that “Any uptick in sales [which he expects soon] will catapult the stock back to the mid-20s.” An upgrading of computers bought about five years ago and the traffic at Apple Stores will help push sales up, he says. In the same article, Needham analyst Charles Wolf, who rates the stock a buy, expects Apple to earn 40 cents a share in 2003, versus Thomson First Call consensus of 24 cents. Kevin Hunt of Thomas Weisel Partners also likes the stock, noting that it is at the low end of its historic range and cheaper than its peers, which makes it attractive long-term.