AAPL – The Apple Stock Bulls Are Out to Play

by Robert Martin | June 13, 2014 9:30 am

Remember that time when Apple (AAPL[1]) went from do-no-wrong to do-no-right? It happened in the seeming blink of an eye; Apple stock had maintained a seemingly unbreakable upward trend since the Great Recession, starting 2009 at just under $13 per share and starting 2012 at just under $60.

And everywhere you turned, someone was praising Apple stock in some way.

AAPL then continued its climb, hitting triple digits later in the year before falling out favor with investors … hard. Shares of Apple stock had lost nearly half of their value by the end 2013’s second quarter.

Suddenly, everywhere you turned, everyone was ripping AAPL apart.

My how the tables have turned … again.

Since Apple’s fall from grace, the stock has slowly been regaining its momentum. And after a roughly 70% recovery from that low — including a market-beating 15% year-to-date gain — the Apple stock fanboys have come roaring back yet again. It doesn’t take much digging to find someone calling for AAPL shares to hit $100 or to lay out a laundry list of reasons why you should buy.

For instance, check out these five recent takes on AAPL stock:

1. Shazir Muklai of The Street[2] jumps on the Apple stock split bandwagon, writing: “Apple’s investors are clearly happy these days as the maker of the iPad appears to be back on track after some months of chatter that the world famous technology company had lost its way. There are many reasons to support the view that Apple has begun to recover some of its lost momentum … First, on Monday, Apple shares began trading at a new price following a 7-for-1 stock split. Apple executed the split, which was announced in April and took effect on June 6, in order to create a more affordable price for retail investors.”
2. Adam Levine-Weinberg of Motley Fool[3] also noted the psychological benefits of the Apple stock split but added: “However, Apple’s fate ultimately depends on its ability to grow earnings — not the accounting gimmick of a stock split. Fortunately for Apple stock owners, the company has a few significant growth drivers coming in the next 2 years. This should keep Apple’s earnings moving higher — sending the share price well beyond $100 to new all-time highs.”
3. Patrick Seitz of Investor’s Business Daily[4] simply pointed to the optimism of Apple stock experts, writing: “RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani on Thursday raised his price target on Apple stock to 100 from 96 and reiterated his outperform rating. He cited the company’s second-half 2014 lineup of products for his optimism.”
4. Tiernan Ray of [5]Barron’s[6] also piggybacked on this AAPL analyst news, but also broke out the details Daryanani laid out — which were likely the same drivers Levine-Weinberg had in mind: “Among the potential financial catalysts is the introduction of an ‘iPhone 6,’ in both 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen size models … The company is set to unveil a wearable device … [and] there will also be a refresh of the iPad.”
5. Aman Jain of [7]ValueWalk[8] rounds out the new iPhone optimism driving many Apple stock bulls, noting: “Factors such as increasing demand in emerging markets and continued momentum with new carriers such as China Mobile will take Apple iPhone sales forward.”

As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2014/06/aapl-apple-stock-bulls-play/

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