Speculation that Apple will adopt the high-performance Cell was fueled by a February 15 Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. report that predicted a Cell-based multimedia workstation from Apple. At the same time, the firm raised its Apple stock price objective from $85 to $102 per share, causing Apple's stock to jump 4.5 percent in one day.
IBM and Apple declined to comment on Apple's possible use of the Cell, but IBM spokesman Glen Brandow emphasized the compatibility between the Cell and the PowerPC
