Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. gained the most this month after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its 2009 and 2010 profit estimates for the maker of Macintosh computers and iPhones, saying sales growth for notebook computers is accelerating.

Apple’s opportunity to increase its market share in portable computers “warrants increasing attention,” Mark Moskowitz, a San Francisco-based analyst at JPMorgan, wrote in a report distributed to clients today. “Our conversations with industry contacts suggest that Mac notebook momentum has been increasing, whereas desktop could be bumpy.”

Moskowitz, who has an “overweight” rating on the Cupertino, California-based company, now projects that Apple will earn $4.86 a share and $5.34 a share in the fiscal years ending in September 2009 and 2010, respectively. He previously forecast $4.53 and $4.83.

Apple added 8.4 percent to $89.53 in 11:02 a.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading and earlier climbed 9 percent, the most since Oct. 29. The stock has lost 55 percent in 2008, exceeding the 43 percent drop by the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Campbell in New York ecampbell11@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 24, 2008 11:06 EST