“Apple shares suffered their sharpest fall in eight years Monday morning on the word of two analysts — including one whose record predicting the company’s performance is mixed at best.” Phillip Elmer-Dewitt reports for Fortune.
“By 10:30 a.m ET the stock had dropped 16%, wiping out more than $18 billion in the company’s market capitalization in the space of 60 minutes. Apple closed at 105.26, down nearly 18%, its lowest level since May 2007,” Elmer-Dewitt reports.
“The broader market also fell at the opening bell, and then more sharply after the financial bailout plan failed to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives. By the end of the day the Dow Jones Industrial average had lost more than 777 points, its worst point loss in history, down nearly 7%,” Elmer-Dewitt reports.
“But even that paled next to the nosedive Apple (AAPL) took after Morgan Stanley’s Kathryn Huberty, citing slowing global consumer demand, cut her price target to $115 from $178 and her recommendation on Apple from ‘overweight’ to ‘equal-weight,'” Elmer-Dewitt reports.
Elmer-Dewitt reports, “In a survey of eight leading Apple analysts last September, Huberty was rated the ‘worst’ based on her ability to estimate the company’s quarterly sales.”
Full article here.
So-called “analysts” ought to be able to take a little analysis of their own performance – especially as it can really cost people when, for whatever reason, they’re wrong – right?
I hate analysts. They are never correct in any of their estimates. I have not seen one where they predicted correctly to the last cent.
Women are too inexperienced to analyze companies, just like they’re too inexperienced to be vice president. Especially women governors. Any governors, in fact.*
*Mention my complete lack of experience or cite governors Carter or Clinton or any other governor who ran for and became President, not just VP, and I’ll brand you a racist.
Did the founding fathers envision Kathy Hubris when they wrote about free speech? They’re laughing at us for putting up with this BS!
ME: trial-as in by fire.
@BO
Asshole much?
I suggest we buy all of de equipment that loser David Blaine used for his “Dangling Dipsh*t Dive of Death” last week. Then we can string up this Huberty fool and let her dangle over a crowd of AAPL investors armed with knives and pitchforks.
No pee breaks every fifteen minutes either.
Yeh-heh-heh-heh-hehessssss . . .
Is this the same Morgan Stanley that took a $9 BBBBBillion subprime write down and Sold $5 Billion of itself to China Investment Corporation? They really know their stuff alright. And the stories go on and on.
Ozy
i wonder if we can make a job of analyzing analysists? technically speaking, if people put so much weight with there decisions with investment, there should be a service providing info and ranking for analysists. (i know i spelt them all wrong. its the end of the day yo)
Howdy
Ooh, look. Something shiny
And now they are blaming the conservatives for this mess.
Financial Analysts are a bunch of stupid people.
Because of them, a lot of people lose a lot of money.
We should abolish Financial Analysts.
Wall Street analysts in general are notorious for having not-a-clue about Apple. The reason is simple: None of them are technologists who live their thinking lives in the technology community. Those of us who do simply laugh at them. I remember telling folks at the end of 1998 to get the hell OUT of technology stocks, a crash was coming. The investments that had been made were baseless and bound to collapse. Wall Street analysts: not-a-clue.
The fact is that Apple has been a HAVEN for investors, being one of the few reliably growing stock investments. When intelligent investors (as opposed to dopey-day-traders) start dumping their Apple stock then you know something fundamental is going on. The world finally figured out that the real estate market had been unrealistically propped up for decades. The void beneath the perceived floor was vast. The floor fell out. OMG the market is falling. Big DUH from my perspective, and I am no trained economist. I just understand aspects of human behavior more than most, apparently.
So of course Apple stock was going to plummet. When your crap investments drop dead in your arms you run to your excellent investments to grab money to get by. Or for the dopey-day-traders, they need money to grab to speculate on the cheap stock prices elsewhere. They’re so [NOT] smart.
Will Apple stock rise again? Obviously. Apple will remain a stalwart in the biz. Why: They have quality on their side. Why is that good? When money gets tight, so does the evaluation of one’s purchases. Laziness and ignorance resulted in the Microsoft hegemony. Responsible research and requirements for Return On Investment will keep Apple healthy and productive.
Whether Wall Street analysts get this clue, who cares. Their tech business acumen isn’t going to improve IMHO. I can only hope that the more clueless of them find a pink slip in their In Box during the aftermath of our current crash.
OFF TOPIC POLITICAL SIDE NOTES: Anyone blaming ‘Conservatives’ for this crash is still lost in the hypnotic trance of the Neo-Con-Jobs, who have never truly been Conservatives. They are, as Ronald Reagan himself named them, THE CRAZIES. Real life Conservatives don’t lick the nether regions of Our Corporate Overlords. They don’t condone the demolition of the USA by encouraging Our Corporate Overlords to move their businesses out of the country. They don’t allow out of balance budgets. They don’t allow immoral, irrational wars in foreign places that have nothing whatsoever to do with defending the USA.
So blame the Liberals? Good luck there. Oddly, the Clintons did a better job following Conservative values than the Bush League.
Who’s to blame doesn’t fit the 2-D EZ political spectrum. Simply blame the selfish, the greedy, the stoopid, the berzerkers, the neo-feudalists, the fascists, airhead speculators, and most of all a lot of mindless marketing to drive us all into unconscionable debt all to make money for Our Corporate Overlords. Ask yourself: Who will successfully survive The Bush Depression? The big buys at the top of those who really rule us these days: Our Corporate Overlords. And you are the new serf class.
i read macdaily daily, if not three or four times, but when a person like the one above (fake name B0) uses a cowardly anonymous blast to purge some anger, it goes over the line. apple is finally clamping down in the app store on anonymous writers who use the site to promote their own issues.
why not, at least, require registration. at best, take a look at the comments and see what is relevant and what is cynical personal frustration.
neither would reduce relevant participation.
Even funnier being they closed UP today: Tue, Sep 30, 2008 – 07:43 PM EDT — AAPL: 113.66 (+8.40, +7.98%) Anyone get luck and buy yesterday, made 8% in 24 hours on their money…
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Kathryn Huberty earned her salary. Apple dived and all the Morgan Stanley subsrciber made a killing in short sales. This is capitalism at its best.
The reason APPL collapsed yesterday was because investors know that Apple’s future does not lie in producing products, like the iPhone and the iPod, that are frills that people won’t or can’t afford in times of economic stress.
The wrong headed decision by Steve to focus on gadgets instead of the serious products – Macintosh computers – for serious people is now coming back to haunt the company and punish us stockholders.
analysts are stupid. they spread FUD and predict that companies will do bad. the market of course will listen to these obsolete idiots who then sell their stocks which THEN makes the company do bad. then, the analysts get a good track record making more people listen to them. it’s a vicious cycle.
@Solution
Are you serious?
Are you a serious person?
Seriously …
Yeah, because when the recession hits we will all stop making phone calls, turn off the electricity, and move into a cave.
When and if there is a recession, the poorer people will stop buying Dells and other crap, but the people with cash will still buy Apple products.
Recessions are, sadly, only for the poor and vulnerable.
@ @solution
I agree there… remember when long ago apple reported they weren’t going to meet their quota.. and dell announced they will not be affected and apple stock dropped.. then shortly after.. dell announces they wont make numbers either 😀
You are right on the buying too.. The poor buy the cheaper $400 to $500 computers.. Sales of those will drop pretty bad if things get even worse. It has been known for along time people who buy apple computers have more disposable income or… just see the value in technology and dont want to buy crap.