Apple shares slide 6% in Germany as investors weigh in on Steve Jobs' leave
AAPL takes a hit overseas
U.S. markets were closed on Monday in recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. But AAPL stock was still traded in Europe, where the news of Jobs' leave of absence had a significant impact.
At one point on Monday, Apple stock was down nearly 10 percent in Frankfurt, Germany, for European trading. It closed the day down 6.2 percent, to finish at â¬244.05.
U.S. markets, including the NASDAQ, where AAPL is traded, will open at their regular time of 9:30 a.m. eastern on Tuesday. It will likely be a busy day of trading for the company's stock, as Apple is also expected to report record sales in its quarterly earnings report after the market closes on Tuesday.
RBC Capital Markets
Analyst Mike Abramsky said he expects AAPL stock to be volatile in the near future, but also buoyed by the strong expected quarter for the start of fiscal 2011. He noted that Apple and Jobs' decision not to reveal the CEO's condition could "sustain uncertainty."
But he said investors may also focus on the fact that Jobs has twice already successfully returned from health absences. In addition, he believes Apple has a strong management team with Tim Cook as the operational leader.
He also noted that when Jobs last left in 2009, the stock dropped 3 percent, but over the next six months it rose 57 percent until Jobs returned in June. Abramsky said that Jobs is Apple's biggest asset, but also the company's biggest risk.
"It will be difficult to assess how the absence of Steve's drive, innovation and leadership — and his high level of involvement — may or may not have a negative impact in the longer term on Apple innovation and talent retention," he said. "After handwringing, street and media reaction are likely to assume the stance for now that Apple can cary on."
Piper Jaffray
Analyst Gene Munster noted that, unlike Jobs' departure in 2009, he announced on Monday that he is not relinquishing his title as chief executive officer. That could be an indication, he said, that Jobs expects his leave of absence to be shorter and less serious than his previous departure.
"Recall that during Jobs' last medical leave (Jan-09 to Jun-09) Cook became interim CEO of Apple and the business continued to perform well," Munster wrote.
Piper Jaffray has retained its "overweight" rating for AAPL stock, as well as its 12-month price target of $438.
27 Comments
Yep... reading all the media hounds right now think doom and gloom is on the horizon.
Everyone I think will agree (trolls included) that if anything, Steve Jobs was about as detail-oriented to the nth degree, perhaps even maybe borderline OCD in his involvement with everything.
That to me would also include have planned to the same attention-to-detail a succession plan in terms of management. He will probably have it planned as to what Tim Cook should wear on a Friday, eight months from now.
Folks with no stomach will no doubt panic-sell. I for one will do exactly what I've been doing after AAPL takes a hit like this. Hold on to what I currently have, and buy cheap again. That has paid off handsomely for me for a long time.
Apple is in a ridiculously good position right now. They're sitting on a mountain of cash, they have great products right now, and more coming, SJ will still continue to run shop, just from a quieter corner. I have complete faith is what's going on at Apple.
Get better Steve. I look forward to you b***h-slapping all the naysayers when you get better.
When prices go wacky (read LOW) it is the time to jump in and make some good moola. AAPL will rebound from whatever it drops to plus more. If heads remain calm (except for those that are almost always naysayers) the stock should do well since Apple will be reporting on a great quarter. I guess the only thing that could throw a (short term) wrench in the works is the wording of the report (e.g., not enough supplies to meet our needs so are forecasting n/2 sales instead of n). Not expecting bad stuff but the analysts sometimes read the tea leaves different than the rest of us.
I suggest you wait for the early drop and buy and then if it drops again buy bigger.
Just my 2 cents.
Read the Charts
Beyond media hype this chart tells the story from a different angle. Steve's health had little inpact on stock.
Reviewing last two health announcements.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/static/ma...bs.1-17-11.jpg
Suck it up and buy.
Folks with no stomach will no doubt panic-sell. I for one will do exactly what I've been doing after AAPL takes a hit like this. Hold on to what I currently have, and buy cheap again. That has paid off handsomely for me for a long time.
Apple is in a ridiculously good position right now. They're sitting on a mountain of cash, they have great products right now, and more coming, SJ will still continue to run shop, just from a quieter corner. I have complete faith is what's going on at Apple..
Since you have a nice profit in AAPL and you believe in their future performance, you should sell on open and buy it back near the end of the day or when it is down 10%, because we know it isn't going up tomorrow.
Last Jobs actually handed the reigns to someone for 6 months the stock value, revenue and profit kept growing. I expect any investor foolishness to be short lived.
Everyone I think will agree (trolls included) that if anything, Steve Jobs was about as detail-oriented to the nth degree, perhaps even maybe borderline OCD in his involvement with everything.
He has CDO. it’s like OCD but with the letters in the right order.