Lack of "good news" sends Apple shares tumbling
Shares of Apple Computer Inc. on Monday fell to their lowest levels in more than two months, on concern that there is not likely to be much good news surrounding the stock for some time, MarketWatch reports.
Shares of Apple fell $4.15, or almost 6 percent, to $67.80 by mid-afternoon. The stock is down 22 percent since reaching a year-to-date high of $86.40 on Jan. 12. It's the first time that the company's shares have been below $70 since trading at $68.81 on Dec. 1.
Unlike recent investor concerns about competition in the music space from heavyweights Google and Microsoft, the latest Apple share declines appear to be a result of increasing skepticism about the the iPod maker's ability to sustain its impressive growth figures.
"Sales of more than 14 million iPods in Apple's last quarter, along with $565 million in profit and $5.75 billion in revenue, has added fuel to beliefs about just how long Apple can sustain such growth on a year-over-year basis, according to Robert Bacarella, manager of the Monetta Select Technology Fund," MarketWatch reported.
Barcarella said there is a sense in the market that "all the good news is out. The easy money has been made." However, he also said that there is little to suggest it is necessary to sell Apple shares.
"My gut feeling is that people are taking some [profits] off the books," Barcarella explained. "They feel the stock looks tired and want to get some payoff from it. If there was any real bad news, [the stock] would have broken down before now."
Shares of Apple fell $4.15, or almost 6 percent, to $67.80 by mid-afternoon. The stock is down 22 percent since reaching a year-to-date high of $86.40 on Jan. 12. It's the first time that the company's shares have been below $70 since trading at $68.81 on Dec. 1.
Unlike recent investor concerns about competition in the music space from heavyweights Google and Microsoft, the latest Apple share declines appear to be a result of increasing skepticism about the the iPod maker's ability to sustain its impressive growth figures.
"Sales of more than 14 million iPods in Apple's last quarter, along with $565 million in profit and $5.75 billion in revenue, has added fuel to beliefs about just how long Apple can sustain such growth on a year-over-year basis, according to Robert Bacarella, manager of the Monetta Select Technology Fund," MarketWatch reported.
Barcarella said there is a sense in the market that "all the good news is out. The easy money has been made." However, he also said that there is little to suggest it is necessary to sell Apple shares.
"My gut feeling is that people are taking some [profits] off the books," Barcarella explained. "They feel the stock looks tired and want to get some payoff from it. If there was any real bad news, [the stock] would have broken down before now."
Comments
Originally posted by Eduardo
"The sky is falling!, the sky is falling!"
Sounds like a good time to buy then.....
Originally posted by Thereubster
Sounds like a good time to buy then.....
"I hear 'ya brother!"
* Long-term investors have nothing to fear from these inevitable fluctuations.
* A lack of specific "good news" right at this moment is very short-sighted: Apple's long-term prospects are excellent in numerous areas.
* Apple is doing great in the market, has massive profits and cash store, no debt, no directly comparable competition, and big plans for the future (both public and secret) well in hand. These periodic stock drops don't threaten the company at all.
* So as Mac USERS, this doesn't mean much to us.
Now what also is probably gonna come out soon is reviews of the Mac Books. Powerbooks traditionally have been Apple's strong selling computer. I know more people with Powerbooks then any other kind of Apple computer. The iMacs have been changing that recently but I think thats just because they have been updated the most often. If the Mac Book Pros get good reviews that should strengthen the stock again.
Besides the macs though the iPods could still have something coming. An update to the Shuffles is more then likely and that is the favorite among the baby boomers it seems. I honestly think people under value the shuffles. Given their price they seem like something Apple has almost neglected since their intial release and an update for them is long overdue and should help the stock as well as any mac updates.
The problem with stocks is that people base their opinions off feelings not logic. Day traders get bored and decide they want to sell or buy based on nothing. Apple has to once again overcome this by releasing just a couple more cool things and it will hopefully start moving the stock back up again.
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What about that prediction from this analyst firm that the AAPL stock would go up to over $100 per share?
Did it ever come close to that?? I was really wondering how this would work out, but oh well....
I seriously think i'm gonna buy now and wait till the next big thing to sell... this could pay off!
"Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve."
Couldn't have said it better myself!
there are so many producst in the piplline, it is a short time stumple
Still, I think it's better to be long in Apple stock before the special event near April 1st. That said, entering the home and the video markets will be much more difficult battle than the portable and mp3 market where there was nobody defending the space and Apple was a surprise. Creative? iRiver? Rio? Archos? All nobodies.
But in the home and video - the cable companies are already entrenched with the phone/satellite companies on the move; they are wary of Apple now having seen Apple's modus operandi; and an Apple revolution in video doesn't seem as major as the one in audio. Big broadcast/cable networks, retailers (like Amazon), and Internet portals (like Yahoo, myspace, etc) are all gearing up to get a piece of any video revolution.
Compared to the others, Apple has the iPod/iTMS advantage, UI and design smarts in a hardware device, brand name/retail stores, and Steve Jobs. But will that be enough?
Stock market analysts are so wrong so often that I am surprised that anyone would pay them for useless opinions.
The iPod is just getting warmed up! You might be surprised to know that I, a longtime Mac user, waited until the fourth generation to buy into the iPod thing. Now, I cannot imagine working without it. Instead of being forced to listen to the Clear Channel drivel all day, I listen to a variety of podcasts. The ways in which people are using iPods is expanding and I believe the phenomenon is snowballing.
The Intel-based Mac switch is occurring about six months ahead of schedule and I'll bet you're going to see brisk sales of PowerMac G5's after the announcement of their Intel-based successors since Adobe is pathetically behind on their upgrade of Photoshop.
No, Mr. Barca-Lounger, you are wrong about Apple and I'd like to think it's because you are just plain stupid. I fear you have a motive to try to manipulate the price for personal gain and, if the SEC were a credible regulatory agency, you'd be jailed for your crime.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/