“After running up more than 30% over the past six weeks, Apple Computer Inc. shares took a sharp U-turn Wednesday after two Wall Street brokerages declared the stock has gotten too high, too fast,” Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch.
MacDailyNews Note: AAPL is currently down $3.26, or 4.35%, to $71.72 in extremely heavy morning trading of over 18.8 million shares.
Crum reports, “Banc of America Securities cut its rating on Apple to neutral from buy, and Bear Stearns downgraded it to peer perform from outperform. Both brokerages said Apple’s shares have probably risen too fast and too quickly ahead of the Christmas shopping season… Still, despite the downgrades, both analysts stressed that they view Apple as a fundamentally sound company that is in a strong position to capture more of the market for personal and home digital entertainment. For example, Banc of America’s Keith Bachman believes Apple will release what he calls a ‘media server’ in 2006 that ‘would serve as a central repository of all media information stored in a home.’ Andrew Neff, Bear Stearns’ analyst, also said he expects Apple to continue to maintain, or even build upon its lead in the MP3 music player market. Apple holds a 76% share of the U.S. market for digital music players, according to NPD Techworld.”
Full article here.
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Related article:
Bear Stearns downgrades AAPL based on valuation – December 14, 2005
BUY, BUY, BUY. Come January 10, you’ll be glad you did. Personally, I’m grateful to these analysts for helping me pick up a few shares cheaper than usual.
Let’s wait for the 1st Quarter results and see how healthy Apple is.
Man, this is bullcrap – so anyone wanna explain why other brokerages were upgrading the price just LAST WEEK to the mid-$80’s????
MDN:whether
You think people are sheep when it comes to using Windows, they have nothing on the idiots playing the stock market.
One cowboy makes a recomendation and the whole herd follows. Of course, that would make them cattle not sheep.
That’s what I get for mixing metaphors.
Anyone that sells prior to January 10th is an absolute idiot. The stock will shoot way up after Steve’s keynote that day, if not before.
Jeff is right.
Apple has to kick FY2006 off with a major success in order to justify its current lofty P/E ratio and a price to cashflow multiplier which is currently well above 4.0.
If Apple hits $5.2 billion in sales and around $500 million in profits, it deserves to go on another run – but the sanity of a $70 billion market cap (or a share price of $85.00) can only be assured if Q2 also delivers another $4 – 4.5 billion in sales.
These Analysts know exactly what they are doing… they tell the whole world AAPL is overrated because they know what is going to happen with the stock, once Apple is going to present the amount of sold Ipods during the X-mas shopping season…..
… its green x-mas moneywise 4 AAPL and it will be too 4 those people who spread these rumours about a overrated stock. They tell the whole world to sell while they prepare to buy…
ThanX.. couse im buying again.. and wait until Macworld!
P.S AAPL is going to scratch the 80 US mark by X-mas….. any takers??
Some of you guys take the analysts so seriously. There is positioning, strategy, AND analysis. Notice that things go up and down over time, as do their stock rating. Hm, I wonder why…
I agree– next year will continue to ahve upside.
Hey guys you’re right.
This is simply a (highly transparent) move by the marketmakers to windup some mega profits come January. Good start to the year hey?
Just amazing!!
I wonder who gets the information ahead of time that these boneheads are going to downgrade a stock. A nice one day profit for their special customers who short it?
Message to the markeplace from the Analysts:
Dear Marketplace:
Even though there are 20 Million shares traded each day, we 5 people at our Bonehead Firm believe that you are ALL wrong and the price is too high.
Also, the price is too high at the pizza place at our lunch spot down the street.
Well I think it’s time that Apple shows all the “Apple Rating” pencil pushers and have a stock split. It’s time again.
THE ANAL-ISTS ARE JUST COVERING THEIR ANUS. THIS PUP IS GOING WAY HIGHER.
This is a classic.
BOA downgrades to “neutral” from “buy”… however, they raised their stock price target to $76 from $52!! Apple’s been trading above $52 since September.
Definitely a buying opportunity. The only analyst that “get’s it” is Gene Munster.
What does reality have to do with the price of stock anyway?
Well, it’s nice that AAPL goes “on sale” every once in a while. Gives the folks who didn’t buy sooner an opportunity to get in.
This is pure manipulation.
Don’t forget option expiry this Friday…
Apple will blow away ANY analyst prediction for this Q!
Long & Strong
Gawd not again..didnt this happen last month or something….yawn…
MW: “least” as in: “im not the least bit phased.”
Id like to catch these pussies in a card game just once.