Say, remember yesterday when we mentioned that a couple of analysts had said really positive things about GarageBand? It struck us as odd, because we're really not used to analysts being nice after a Stevenote, particularly one that was relatively light on big announcements. Well, the weirdness continues, because now they're actually going ga-ga over the iPod, too; faithful viewer bRaD Weston notes that there are a few choice analyst quotes in a CNN/Money article called "Sweet music for Apple," which asks, "Will [Apple's] new mini model help lift the stock?"

Before you can say "self-fulfilling prophecy," we can tell you that the answer is "yes." AAPL has closed higher for three straight days following the Stevenote, with today's gain being the biggest so far: 77 cents, or 3.41%, with an additional 24 cents tacked on in after-hours trading. And while you can bet that today's lift was due mostly to the Bizarro World announcement of HP-branded iPods coming this summer, we have to believe that positive analyst comments published by CNN/Money itself sure didn't hurt. Matt Kelmon of Kelmoore Investment Co. just doubled his fund's holdings in AAPL because he thinks Apple's about to report a "blowout quarter" due to iPod sales; "I haven't felt this good about a stock in a while," he said.

Need more? Well, Vinnie Muscolino of David L. Babson (David L. Babson is a firm, not a guy-- it's not some freaky indentured servitude arrangement or anything) says that "the success of the iPod could help drive sales" of Macs and that Apple stands to clean up in a major way as the economy improves and people start tossing money around like confetti again. He states that AAPL is "an under-appreciated stock," and Kelmon concurs, noting that shares are only trading at less than twice the company's book value, thanks to that $4-plus billion in cash.

Okay, so they're not talking about the miniPod in particular, but since the mini was the big iPod news this week, we think it's safe to read between the lines. Deliriously unscientific anecdotal evidence suggests that a fair number of people are preordering the lil' puppies (although their absence from the Apple Store Top 20 is slightly worrying), and according to Newsweek, Steve even thinks that "one of the biggest customers for the mini is going to be current owners buying a second iPod. They're going to have both-- when I go on a trip I take my whole library and when I go to the gym I take the mini." We'll need a quarter or so to see whether the miniPod sinks or swims, but it seems like Wall Street, at least, thinks it's got fins.

No, not literally. Sheesh.