Apple this morning has been upgraded by AmTech Research analyst Shaw Wu from “Neutral” to “Buy” a mere 13 days after the analyst cut his rating on the stock to “Neutral” from “Buy” on so-called “valuation concerns.”
Since April 22, the day the Wu that cut his rating, Apple shares have gained $24.80, or 15.5%, rising from $160.20 at the close on April 22 to $185 currently.
MacDailyNews Take: We guess that, for some reason, in under two weeks, Shaw’s “concerns” about Apple’s valuation have simply evaporated even as the company’s market value has risen $21.8 billion to $162.6 billion since April 22.
God, to have this ass clown’s job. I could do what he does, and better, for less money.
if Wu thinks Apple is a buy, then it’s probably a good time to sell.
This certainly makes Shaw Wu look stupid, but in the past he has been pretty bullish on Apple and fairly close in his sales forecasts.
“Oops! Lost in my own reality again. It seemed pretty real at the time.”
Kudos for Wu!
Oh everyone makes mistakes.
Oh, yes they do
Your sister and your brother and your dad and mother too;
Big people, small people, matter of fact, all people!
Everyone makes mistakes, so why can’t you?
if you know apple then its easy to predict whats coming around the corner… these guys are so consumed by the numbers game of wall street that they loose track of how things really work… MDN should be the only source of apple info investors look to…lol
AAPL had gone from $120 to $160 in 12 weeks. Wu was not irrational to suggest the shares were now priced at a point whereby the investor was likely to make better than market returns with other firms which had not yet rallied to the same degree as AAPL.
He didn’t say dump it. He did say there were other places where you might make more.
The extension of the run up to $185 is interesting in that the typical dump of shares after the earnings report didn’t occur. As a result, the shares have traded thinly since. Simple supply and demand has driven this run.
For Wu to step in with the upgrade, it is reasonable he sees tight supply in shares which are likely to continue to drive pricing compounding against the buzz of the new phone.
Those interested in measuring their genius against his are free to do so. The meeting happens most everyday on Wall St.
Why is it these ANALyst never get fired for being stupid?
Mr. Wu, what shall I do.
So the guy made some decision he now considers a misjudgement.
So he corrects it.
Seems pretty sensible to me.
More sensible than the average Apple-analyst, let alone the average MDN-reader. Wu’s OK.
Wu anticipated a post earnings dump so he downgraded but now after the results he can resume his pre-reporting condition. AAPL is a buy at 240, remember we were supposed to be here by now from December’s perspective.
Sounds all kinda “wu-wu” to me. . .
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@Gwendo – your poem should be reprinted on the cover of the WSJ once a week. Hilarious commentary, Dr. Seuss style!
@Tom – astute observation. The market sold when Wu downgraded not so much on the strength of his analysis or reputation, but because he’s been bullish for so long. I don’t think he was wrong in his analysis on the downgrade at the time, but it’s wrong now and he promptly corrected it.
Who was the other downgrade — was it Morgan Keegan?
This clown cried wolf to drive down the price of Apple’s stock so he could buy more knowing full well that Apple’s stock would go up.
Maybe next time this clown cries wolf, the others ANALysts should ignore him as he talks through where the sun don’t shine. There was no logical reason for his down rating on Apple, plain and simple.
So people that listed o Wu lost money on this deal??? I guess that makes him a good analyst? If he has said that he expected some sell off of the stock and it did not happen, I would say SMART man, just got it wrong.
But he indicated that Apple was in for a down drop. And now he thinks it is ready for a ramp up??
I have a two sided quarter too. Can I be an anal – ist too??
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@Steve
Unfortunately the poem is not by me:
Or perhaps he’s come into some new information about future product releases that has changed his perspective and expectations.
I agree with John. He used his position to manipulate the price of AAPL downwards.
@Gwendo
Some edits:
Kudos for Wu!
Oh everyone makes mistakes.
Oh, yes they wu
Your sister and your brother and your dad and mother wu;
Big people, small people, matter of fact, all people!
Everyone makes mistakes, so why can’t Wu?
Bwahahahahahah
WU is an idiot and any future recommendations of his to sell, hold, or buy should be framed in the context that Wu is an idiot. Fool us once, foolish us; fool us twice, foolish Wu.
This board seems to be receiving a very high proportion of teenagers. Mr. Wu is responsible for providing investment information to customers with a lot of money to invest (and a lot of money to lose). At the time, two weeks ago, when he made recommendation to ‘Hold’ (not ‘Sell’), AAPL has just had a 40% run-up in a period of a few weeks. They were just about to announce earnings for a quarter that was most disastrous for the most of US economy for the past seven years. The odds were stacked against AAPL, which was confirmed the day after earnings, when AAPL stayed put, not going anywhere, even though the report blew every expectation out of the water: Mr. Wu was right. However, as soon as substantial rumours about 3G iPhone started appearing everywhere, AAPL continued to climb. Hence, today’s new recommendation.
Mr. Wu was one of the more bullish analysts for the past year. He was bullish even in January, when everyone else was crying (and people on this board were expecting a drop to $80s, screaming at Jobs for a stock buyback). So if you listened to Mr. Wu for the past year, your AAPL holdings would today be approximately double from last year, perhaps less than 8% lower than what you would have had if you had ignored his last recommendation of two weeks ago.
It is much better to err on the safe side. Especially when the outcome of your work affects many others. Not earning potential profits (without any work) is much better than losing money you had to work for.
@Steve – yes, MK preceded ATR in both the downgrade and upgrade. The MK interval was 16 calendar days and their upgrade happened immediately after the earning call. MK more clearly read the absence of the post-earnings share dump and their clients benefitted from their view.
I’d really like readers of this page to be more at ease with the nuance of commentary by analysts. It is easy to misplace the target of their thoughts – they are speaking about the shares, not the company or it’s products. It requires discipline to always focus on what they do – they trade. Every comment must be read within the context of buying and selling the shares.
Lastly, as with players in every other game, they make plays on offense and defense. Don’t get angry or upset – watch, learn, practice, and profit from what you come to understand.
Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray is the only analyst that has any clue as to what is going on with AAPL. I’d suggest that if you own AAPL stock or are thinking about buying it, to read his analysis and totally ignore any of Wu’s drivel.
Gene Munster, and ONLY Gene Munster, knows what’s going on at Apple (among the pundit crowd). Make no mistake, everyone else in the ANALytical Game is listening to EACH OTHER . . . not Apple, its customers, its product line, its sales figures, its track record, and the like.
Let Mr. Shaw, Mr. Wu, or whatever he calls himself hurl his nuggets of wisdom at those who do not know his “Johnny Come Lately” relationship with AAPL. So be it.
As for me, however, Gene Munster’s LONG-TERM connection to the company and its equity will do just fine.
@mcdeans
I think you have it right. Wu is usually in the loop with Apple and is usually Bullish.