Apple stock again named the 'top pick' for investors in 2012

Posted:
in AAPL Investors edited January 2014
Apple was the No. 1 stock recommended to investors by Ticonderoga Securities in 2011, and it holds that title once again at the start of 2012.



Analyst Brian White said in a note to investors on Tuesday that he is comfortable once again recommending AAPL stock to investors at the start of the new year. He noted that Apple was the best performer in the 20 companies covered by Ticonderoga, seeing growth of 26 percent.



"We believe Apple's portfolio in 2012 has the opportunity to create more excitement around the story with our expectation for the unveiling of iTV, a "iPad mini" and a major upgrade with the iPhone 5, while we expect the company to finally come to grips with its surging cash balance and issue its first cash dividend," White wrote.



White has long been an advocate of Apple using its large cash hoard for a "generous cash dividend" or stock repurchase. And he has not been alone in that view, though Apple so far has shown no interest in offering investors a dividend.



Executives at Apple have said they are content to hang on to their cash reserves in order to take advantage of "strategic opportunities." In 2010, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs dismissed the possibility of a dividend, noting that the company prefers to make big moves.



Regardless, White believes that Apple is a solid choice for investors following a "tough 2011," even as uncertainty looms over where the economy is headed in 2012. He noted that Apple has proven to be more resilient than other technology companies in the face of a recession.



White's glowing outlook for AAPL stock in 2012 was joined on Tuesday by Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who said he too sees the company poised for growth in the next year. He sees a redesigned "iPhone 5," a third-generation iPad and a full-fledged Apple television as potential products in a strong 2012.







Summarizing his previous predictions, Munster said he believes Apple's next-generation iPhone will sport a slightly larger screen than the current 3.5-inch size, and he expects it to launch in the late summer or early fall of 2012. His projections also assume that Apple will replace the current iPad 2 with a new third-generation model, though he said the company could expand the product lineup into new price ranges.



Munster has also long believed that Apple plans to build a full-fledged connected television in the near future. Rumors of an Apple television have picked up steam in recent months since it was revealed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson before he died that he had "cracked" the secret to a simple HDTV.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Bought ?40,000 recently.
  • Reply 2 of 42
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post




    Analyst Brian White said in a note to investors










    Anal Cysts are NEVER correct.
  • Reply 3 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Bought ?40,000 recently.



    Nice to have that kind of cash lying around. I was happy to scrap up enough for 7 more shares a couple weeks ago. If ING Direct/Sharebuilder wasn't so dang slow about making your money accessible I could have gotten 8 at 370 instead of 7 at 400
  • Reply 4 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Bought ?40,000 recently.



    I honestly thought it would have gone down just below $350 before rising but $363 was the lowest it got. Hope you got some in the $370 range.



    Should bode well for the price going forward.
  • Reply 5 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    i honestly thought it would have gone down just below $350 before rising but $363 was the lowest it got. Hope you got some in the $370 range.



    Should bode well for the price going forward.



    $373.



    I see it going to $500 by Jan 2013.
  • Reply 6 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    $373.



    I see it going to $500 by Jan 2013.



    I see some downward pressure on the stock if v.3 of the iPad has stagnant sales, and, of course, the inverse of that if v3 iPad takes off.



    I'm waiting for v.6 of the iPhone. I know absolutely that it will send AAPL soaring. I expect to see at least two quarters of 40+ million sales of the iPhone.
  • Reply 7 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    I see it going to $500 by Jan 2013.



    It should be there NOW. It should never have dropped from its old high. You're well-versed in this whole thing; what's up with allowing this obvious underpricing to continue?
  • Reply 8 of 42
    New products aside, this will likely be the year of the dividend. The pressure to pay out will become too great to ignore, and with Steve no longer with us, I suspect the last important holdout against one is also gone. I don't think it will be as high as 3%, but 2% is not impossible and very doable for Apple.



    I see we've still got some of the same old stopped clock predictions around here. Keep saying the same thing -- eventually you are bound to be right.



    Pet peeve: "AAPL stock" is a redundancy.



    My cost basis is $4.40.
  • Reply 9 of 42
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    The pressure to pay out will become too great to ignore.



    Who is bringing this pressure to the board? Who has the clout (and stupidity) to pressure the Apple board and management team to do anything they don't want?
  • Reply 10 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post


    Who is bringing this pressure to the board? Who has the clout (and stupidity) to pressure the Apple board and management team to do anything they don't want?



    Look to the large shareholders -- they call the shots on matters such as these in all public companies. In this case, you've got the big institutional investors, in particular, the retirement fund managers, who've been pressing this question for some time. Then look to the index fund managers, who must keep massive amounts of AAPL in their portfolios. Then to top management; they get compensated to a large extent with stock options and grants. Then look to the board members themselves. I suspect the board was deferring to Steve on this issue for many years.



    So you might instead consider who is the likely opposition at this point. None who are alive, is my sense of it.
  • Reply 11 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    I'm waiting for v.6 of the iPhone. I know absolutely that it will send AAPL soaring.



    So you're the one who knows then.
  • Reply 12 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    New products aside, this will likely be the year of the dividend. The pressure to pay out will become too great to ignore, and with Steve no longer with us, I suspect the last important holdout against one is also gone. I don't think it will be as high as 3%, but 2% is not impossible and very doable for Apple.



    I see we've still got some of the same old stopped clock predictions around here. Keep saying the same thing -- eventually you are bound to be right.



    Pet peeve: "AAPL stock" is a redundancy.



    My cost basis is $4.40.



    Stopped clock?



    I was the one who said AAPL would dip below $370. It didn't go quite as low as I thought but anyone who listened to me would have saved a few bucks.



    I can sure as hell say that I don't see you putting your cred on the line.
  • Reply 13 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    So you're the one who knows then.



    I'm the one who knows.



    [just in case there was any doubt]
  • Reply 14 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Stopped clock?



    I was the one who said AAPL would dip below $370. It didn't go quite as low as I thought but anyone who listened to me would have saved a few bucks.



    I can sure as hell say that I don't see you putting your cred on the line.



    I don't predict future stock prices, even for one I've followed for as long as AAPL. That's a fool's errand. We've seen why time and again. Trying to time any stock is a fool's errand, squared. Even the pros get it wrong more often than they get it right. Anyone who takes investing advice from someone posting to a message board deserves whatever they get.



    My "cred" if any comes from buying into AAPL nearly 15 years ago and holding steady when others were trying to time the seesaws, almost certainly to their detriment.
  • Reply 15 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    I don't predict future stock prices, even for one I've followed for as long as AAPL. That's a fool's errand. We've seen why time and again. Trying to time any stock is a fool's errand, squared. Even the pros get it wrong more often than they get it right. Anyone who takes investing advice from someone posting to a message board deserves whatever they get.



    My "cred" if any comes from buying into AAPL nearly 15 years ago and holding steady when others were trying to time the seesaws, almost certainly to their detriment.



    Well, you're wrong... it's never been to my detriment. AAPL is one stock that follows charting patterns very very nicely and if you follow Apple's product announcements and quarterly announcements along with the charts then you can keep the same amount of stock while using profits for toys, mortgage payments etc.



    ... barring complete world economic collapse.



    ... and, yes, anyone taking advice from someone they don't know on the internet is foolish... but so is buying a stock in an uptrend while negative news is being announced.
  • Reply 16 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Well, you're wrong... it's never been to my detriment. AAPL is one stock that follows charting patterns very very nicely and if you follow Apple's product announcements and quarterly announcements along with the charts then you can keep the same amount of stock while using profits for toys, mortgage payments etc.



    ... barring complete world economic collapse.



    ... and, no, anyone taking advice from someone they don't know on the internet is foolish... but so is buying a stock in an uptrend while negative news is being announced.



    Pretty much everybody who tries to time stocks thinks they have done great. They don't realize that they have to time tops and bottoms almost perfectly to not have been better off holding through peaks and valleys. A small miss on both ends is typically enough to wipe out any advantage. You'd be doing even worse relatively speaking if you constantly peeled off profits to buy toys.



    Pretty much the only advice I give is to be an investor, not a trader. Short terms news is for traders and speculators. Trends are for investors. End of investing advice.
  • Reply 17 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    Pretty much everybody who tries to time stocks thinks they have done great. They don't realize that they have to time tops and bottoms almost perfectly to not have been better off holding through peaks and valleys. A small miss on both ends is typically enough to wipe out any advantage. You'd be doing even worse relatively speaking if you constantly peeled off profits to buy toys.



    Pretty much the only advice I give is to be an investor, not a trader. Short terms news is for traders and speculators. Trends are for investors. End of investing advice.



    What??!!



    So you hold 100 shares while I buy and sell 100 shares several times over in a 10 year period.



    I still have 100 shares and you still have 100 shares... but I have managed to use profits for purchasing... and yet, somehow, you are further ahead??!



    Hmmm... good that you ended your investing advice.



    Oh, and btw, AAPL swings enough that you don't even have to time things that closely. On the other hand... most stocks follow the trend you mention, but there are plenty that have a very predictable swing.
  • Reply 18 of 42
    kent909kent909 Posts: 731member
    I could buy it today and then it would go down for sure.
  • Reply 19 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    What??!!



    So you hold 100 shares while I buy and sell 100 shares several times over in a 10 year period.



    I still have 100 shares and you still have 100 shares... but I have managed to use profits for purchasing... and yet, somehow, you are further ahead??!



    Hmmm... good that you ended your investing advice.



    Oh, and btw, AAPL swings enough that you don't even have to time things that closely. On the other hand... most stocks follow the trend you mention, but there are plenty that have a very predictable swing.



    Yes, exactly. You could look it up. Read up on David Swenson among others who have studied market chasing strategies in detail. Even pros who try to chase markets underperform the indexes over time, and individuals tend to get murdered by the big money players who are always going to be steps ahead of them. Those are the grim facts, whether you are aware of them or not.



    Everybody wants to think they have the perfect system. I guess that's why casinos and lotteries always seem to have a customers.
  • Reply 20 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    Yes, exactly. You could look it up. Read up on David Swenson among others who have studied market chasing strategies in detail. Even pros who try to chase markets underperform the indexes over time, and individuals tend to get murdered by the big money players who are always going to be steps ahead of them. Those are the grim facts, whether you are aware of them or not.



    Everybody wants to think they have the perfect system. I guess that's why casinos and lotteries always seem to have a customers.



    Your comprehension level is getting lower.



    Overall I wouldn't try my method with too many stocks but I have a select few that feed me well.



    Guys like you always push the buy and hold method when they are winning (ie AAPL) but just ask the RIMM buyers how they feel about buy and hold.



    [by the way... my favourite buy and hold stock... IBM... dividends and increasing s/p]
Sign In or Register to comment.