Apple Stock Slides Again as Fall Swoon Continues
Apple may well be destined for a $1 trillion market cap, but it may take it a bit longer to get there given the performance of the company’s stock lately. The end of 2012 is proving to be a brutal season for Apple shares.
Apple’s stock finished the day Wednesday down 6.43 percent at $538.81, beaten down amid continued volatility. And while it’s up 36 percent for the year, it’s down more than 20 percent from the high of $705.07 it hit in late September. That’s an ugly decline.
Apple is heading into the holidays with one of its strongest product lineups in recent memory, so why are its shares taking such a beating?
That’s not at all clear, though there are myriad theories: Fears that Apple is ceding tablet market share to rivals; the company’s refusal to issue a special dividend; concerns that iPhone sales may be a little lighter than expected; reports that clearing firms are hiking margin requirements on Apple’s stock; Nokia’s announcement that China Mobile will carry one of its new Lumia smartphones.
In truth, Apple’s recent swoon is likely being driven by a combination of all these things, which are together shaking investor confidence. Question now is, what will it take to restore it?