Nintendo almost at Apple level?

Nintendo Shares hit a record high on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest global investment banks, placed a ‘buy’ rating on the company amid speculation it could raise its annual earnings forecast for the year to March 2008.

After hitting the all-time high price of 64,800 yen, shares in the Big N closed at 64,300 yen, up 2.7%, while Goldman Sachs’ target price for the company sat at 71,000 yen.

“We believe Nintendo’s talent in creating new markets, evident from the launch of the DS and Wii, could bring it close to the level of Apple, whose high valuations are due in large part to its innovative business model,” Goldman said in a report.

The Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, meanwhile, has reclaimed its place as Japan’s second-most valuable company behind the Toyota Motor Corp, leaving Nintendo to inhabit third place thanks to its grand success with Wii and DS.

Nintendo’s annual operating profit forecast to March 2008 currently sits at 370 billion yen, although a poll of 18 analysts found that the company’s expected to reach 415 billion yen.

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