“Investors expressed some concerns Thursday regarding the latest reports about options grants made to Apple Computer’s enigmatic chief executive officer Steve Jobs,” Paul R. La Monica reports for CNNMoney.
La Monica reports, “Despite the fact that Jobs’ name has surfaced more prominently in the most recent accounts of Apple’s options problems, Wall Street analysts largely shrugged off the news and said that it’s highly unlikely that Jobs would be forced to leave Apple. ‘Any time a CEO is at risk of being, for lack of a better word, forcibly removed, then investors should be concerned. But do I believe that Steve Jobs’ job is at risk? That’s an unequivocal no,’ said Jonathan Hoopes, an analyst with ThinkEquity Partners.”
“Hoopes said he did not think that there was much in the way of significant new disclosures about Apple in the past few days and blamed the sell-off on the inexperienced traders working the holiday week,” La Monica reports. “He added that since the company has previously announced that it is investigating the matter and is planning on restating results, investors shouldn’t fear any major bombshells.”
La Monica reports, “‘Is there anything new here? I don’t think so. Are people more aware of it today? Sure. But there is limited liquidity in the markets due to the holidays,’ Hoopes said. ‘You got a Christmas present to buy the stock yesterday and if it’s down again today, you have another Christmas present.'”
Full article here.
The Chicken Littles sure do leave a lot of cash lying around, don’t they?
Related articles:
Analyst: U.S. Gov’t unlikely to ‘nail Apple and Steve Jobs’ – December 28, 2006
Report: Apple ‘falsified’ records on 7.5m stock options granted to CEO Steve Jobs in 2001 – December 28, 2006
What would Apple be worth without Steve Jobs? – December 27, 2006
Piper Jaffray: Steve Jobs not at risk in stock options case – December 27, 2006
Apple shares push into positive territory, top NASDAQ most-active list – December 27, 2006
Shares of Apple Computer fall 5% in pre-market trading – December 27, 2006
Faked documents may be at core of Apple options probe; Jobs seeks outside legal representation – December 26, 2006
Apple delays filing annual report due to ongoing stock options investigation – December 15, 2006
Options scandal: is Apple’s Steve Jobs truly safe? – October 18, 2006
Apple Computer Directors may have had conflicts of interest in options investigation – October 11, 2006
Apple’s options disclosures leave plenty of unanswered questions – October 09, 2006
Apple shareholders await earnings restatements; Steve Jobs still not in the clear – October 06, 2006
Former CFO Anderson helped turn Apple Computer around – October 05, 2006
Wall Street unshaken by results of Apple stock options investigation – October 05, 2006
Is Apple rotten at the core? – October 05, 2006
Analyst: Anderson, Heinen may be former Apple executives responsible for irregular options grants – October 05, 2006
Analyst: Apple restatement due to options irregularities not expected to be significant – October 04, 2006
Apple’s special committee reports findings of stock option investigation – October 04, 2006
Google CEO declines Apple automatic stock option grant; plans to buy 10,000 AAPL shares instead – September 01, 2006
Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt joins Apple’s Board of Directors – August 29, 2006
Shareholders allege Apple execs reaped ‘millions’ in unlawful profits – August 23, 2006
How options-backdating irregularities can affect your Apple Computer stock – August 23, 2006
Apple’s options imbroglio: Mac-maker granted options at or near key events in company’s history – August 18, 2006
Apple added to Nasdaq’s list of ‘delinquent companies’ – August 18, 2006
Apple unlikely to be delisted by NASDAQ – August 16, 2006
Apple CEO Steve Jobs drawn into stock options scandal – August 15, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – August 11, 2006
As expected, Apple delays quarterly results due to stock-options grants review – August 11, 2006
Some stock options grant decisions were made by Apple board, and potentially, CEO Steve Jobs – August 10, 2006
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Pixar options draw scrutiny – August 08, 2006
Apple stock options scandal? What scandal? – August 07, 2006
Class action lawsuit over stock options filed against Apple Computer, Inc. – August 04, 2006
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Apple’s stock option irregularities escalate into a scandal as world awaits Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote – August 04, 2006
Apple warns of profit restatement dating back to 2002 – August 04, 2006
Apple loses 3.5% to $67.15 in premarket trading – August 04, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – August 03, 2006
Shareholder’s options suit against Apple alleges ‘striking pattern that could not have been chance’ – July 11, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – July 05, 2006
UBS: stock options probe unlikely to hurt Apple – June 30, 2006
Apple joins growing list of companies entangled in stock option ‘irregularities’ – June 29, 2006
Apple to investigate stock option grant ‘irregularities’ made between 1997 and 2001 – June 29, 2006
As well as experienced traitors.
While I think SJ will PROBABLY be OK, there is certainly a possibility that he/Apple will be indicted. So no Apple fan, much less an Apple investor, can be too complacent right now.
Time to stock up!
The future of Apple and the hope for computer users worldwide is OSX. OSX is the backbone of Apple and therefore aapl. If the iphone doesn’t exist, if Steve Jobs goes to jail for fifty years, OSX is still there, taking market share from MS, and growing aapl. If we lose sight of the power of OSX, then every little event will be over blown, seem more important than what it really is, and cause useless talk and speculation. OSX is the engine that pulls the train of long-term aapl gains.
First, no one really knows all of the facts at this point. We will learn more tomorrow after the close. Second, the company interpretation of facts and liability is not necessarily identical to the regulators. Generally, the company spin is slanted and the perspective is in favor of management. Third, the regulators can be tenacious and even punitive. They love to make examples and take down icons. Fourth, they are unlikely to stop at simply the CFO and legal counsel. Fifth, these investigations take enormous amounts of management time. SJ is likely spending over half his time now on regulatory and legal issues. Sixth, entrapment is a serious issue: Martha Stewart lost due to lying not insider trading. Finally, if recent reports that options were issued to SJ without Board approval and then records were falsified to indicate the Board did approve are true, then this is a very serious matter even if the options were subsequently cancelled. Key question: Would this not be fraud and how could SJ not have been aware? My key point: this could be a potentially serious issue involving both the SEC and the Justice Department. They are looking to target high profile examples. I would take this matter very seriously. As a stockholder, I am concerned the regulators will choose the wrong target and seriously damage the company as a consequence.
Regulators are not going to target the wrong people in any case where the economy is a factor. The market is high, they aren’t going to do anything to screw that up. Money is important, and since no money was gained by this in action then there is nothing important to this option business. You are correct Martha lied. All the government wanted was for her to tell the truth. As long as Apple and whoever the poeple are in question then all is fine. A little Tax will result and some other fines and fees , slap on the wrist and thats that. Dell is in serious trouble because they are hiding margins by moving cash.
MDN work “Thinking” as in ” I am thinking of selling DELL short.”
By the way, thank you to all the nay sayers and ski is fallingers. I finally got back in AAPL at $80.20. Now all i need is that split announcement and a run up to 150 like back in 98-99.
Just keep dropping! I’m buying in the 70’s.
It’s my fault. The stock fell because I finally gave in and bough another chunk of Apple stock at 92 just days before It dropped more than ten dollars. That’s how my luck runs with stocks. Just sucks.
I hope Macworld kicks ass and gets it back up there.
This all SOOO reeks of Y2K: Massive dollars and hours spent, fear and uncertainty everywhere, and a media circus dream. New Years Day 2000, three cash registers refuse to open.
When institutional analysts start telling you not to worry, it’s time ot start worrying.
Apple has been a star on the stock market scene. These guys have literally hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into APPL. And since Jobs IS Apple, anything that goes bad for him WILL impact the stock price. It happened when they thought he was going to die, and it will again if it looks like he’s going to pay some sort of price (whether it be a massive fine, resignation, or even Martha Stewart-style jail time).
So here’s what to look out for: If the analysts continue saying such things as ‘only amateur investors are being spooked by this and selling’, watch to see if the holdings of APPL by the big firms drop. If the stock price tends to stay in a static-to-declining range (going up occasionally, but otherwise not gaining for very long), then you are seeing the beginning of the rats leaving the sinking ship. These guys know before any of us what’s going to go down, and the last thing they want is a general panic to rob them of their profits (to hell with yours), so they will manage the PR in this way until they’ve gotten all they can before the situation inevitably collapses.
You’ve been warned.
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“But there is limited liquidity in the markets due to the holidays”
Yet Apple had some of it’s highest trading days of the year, with 13% of the company’s public float changing hands in two days this week.
So it’s clear that a lot of people have lost the faith. But for every seller there’s a buyer.