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Will Apple Stock Tank Again?

Stephen Van Esch
Oct. 2, 2000


This article was originally published on osOpinion "sometime before the iBook shipped," which makes it over a year old. It is reproduced here by permission of the author.

In light of Apple's recent stock surge, I am seriously considering investing in Apple stock. It has made substantial (to put it mildly) gains in the last year and seems poised to go even further.

Apple's stock, according to some, is "undervalued" and is making its way back into the Wall Street's good books.

So I'm left wondering: Is this a good time to buy? Will Apple stock shoot ever higher with the release of the consumer version of OS X, the P1 and maybe, just maybe, a revised iMac? Am I willing to make the bet?

My worst fear is that the market, like a fair weather friend, will abandon Apple at the drop of a hat. They are all too willing to leave market darlings out to dry if they perform exceedingly well but not up to expectations. Compaq and Intel are fine examples.

Where does this leave Apple? After an extraordinarily rough ride, I suspect that investors will quite willingly pummel Apple stock at the first sign of weakness. If Apple fails to exceed expectations even once, the financial pundits will start speculating about Apple's downfall all over again.

"In light of Apple's recent weak quarter, what's your recommendation John?"

"Well, Apple has had a good run these last few quarters but we are now seeing if they can hold the momentum. This current quarterly result may be the first indication that they can't."

Heck, that scenario could play itself out even if Apple met outrageous expectations.

There's no doubt that no matter how well Apple performs, it has a long way to go to regain any sort of long-term commitment from skittish investors. Can investors shrug off a bad quarter at Apple as "a bump in the road" or will they head for the hills?

I don't think that the current Apple stock love-in is anything other than a one-night stand. I'm not convinced that investors will stick around to make breakfast.

Further Reading

  • Blame the Cube?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10/2. Apple stock tanked on Friday. People quickly pointed fingers at the Cube. But should we really blame the computer?

<back to the original article>

Stephen Van Esch is the founder and president of the E-learning Foundry, an online training resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual, since he's also fluent in Windows and French.

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