Throughout the entire tri-fecta of doom, Apple’s share prices have shockingly outperformed the market, and somehow managed to stay at impressive levels in the face of direct consumer backlash. The past three weeks have been a different story with Apple shares tumbling over 20 points.
Shares of Apple, Inc. (AAPL) have been getting hammered lately, today falling over 1.40% to $157.94 per share. This comes as no surprise seeing as how Apple shares usually dip right before a scheduled media event. Contrary to popular belief, Apple’s stock doesn’t simply soar at the announcement of a possible new product, or media event. The stock is driven primarily by how current revenue (and product) expectations are being digested by wall street, analysts and Apple’s loyal user base, combined with a slew of other factors, which recently seem to be Steve Jobs’ physical health and appearance.
Even in the time of economic weakness, Apple shares have been performing strong. On August 13th, for a brief moment in time, Apple’s share prices surged to $179.32 per share, and Apple’s market cap was greater than Google’s (Apple: $159.37 billion vs. Google: $157.56 billion). But the stock has been on a steady decline since. Today the stock is trading in the $150’s and has been hammered in the 24 hours leading up to the special “Let’s Rock” media event.
For any of you that have been waiting to make a move with Apple shares, this may be a great time for you to get in. Based on historical activity, over the next 48-72 hours, you can expect the stock to dip lower and then rise on new product announcements, or in the days after. If you are on the lookout for a good short term trade, or to possibly make the leap into Apple shares and have been holding out due to the expensive price tag, this may be your opportunity to securely get in.
We can expect to see new iPods, such as this 4th generation iPod nano, an upgraded iPod touch (possible inclusion of GPS, increased storage), as well as a sure lock on iTunes 8, and possibly hopefully some “wild cards”. In a non-so-typical Apple fashion, their PR team has been making quite a stir about this event, inviting journalists and reporters from overseas, as well as various media outlets, select blogs, publications, and insisting that this event will be a “big deal” and “not to miss it.”
At Citigroup’s 15th Annual Global Technology Conference on September 3rd, Apple CFO Peter Oppenhemier reiterated the that “we [Apple] are going to rock at next week’s event.” Speculation aside, there are some sure bets on tomorrow’s event. And there are probably some guaranteed announcements that haven’t been leaked. Either way, Apple’s stock has tumbled downward more than $20 per share in the last 3 weeks, and it might be the perfect time to build up your position (on the decline), and ride it up on the inevitable rise.
