Why Now Might be a Good Time to Buy Apple Stock
Apple this week reported its first quarter financial results ended December 28, 2013. In terms of dollars coming in, it was a solid quarter for the Cupertino outfit, which posted record quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion for a quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share. Those figures are up from revenue of $54.5 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share, in the same quarter a year prior.
Apple also sold 51 million iPhone devices, an all-time quarterly record and up from 47.8 million in 2012. Add to that 26 million iPad sales (also a quarterly record) and 4.8 million Macs (up from 4.1 million a year ago) and you're not left with much to criticize, or so you would think.
Investors who own stock in Apple have been hyper-sensitive to market conditions in recent years to the point where it almost seems like they're looking for reasons to dump the company's stock. Despite a record quarter, they found their reason yet again, this time due to record iPhone sales being a bit lower than the 54 million to 56 million analysts were expecting.
Apple's stock tumbled more than 8 percent after Apple posted its financial results and is currently trading at around $502 per share, down from around $550 per share before investors hit the panic button. According to Barron's, the mass "selloff is a buying opportunity." How so?
Overall, Apple's first quarter performance was better than expected (talking about dollars and not the number of iPhones it sold). On top of that, Barron's argues that Apple has a "thriving ecosystem" along with $159 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet. In other words, it's in excellent financial shape.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn agrees. After investors dumped their shares and drove the stock price down, Icahn swooped in and invested $500 million in the company, increasing his holdings to around $5 billion.
Apple also sold 51 million iPhone devices, an all-time quarterly record and up from 47.8 million in 2012. Add to that 26 million iPad sales (also a quarterly record) and 4.8 million Macs (up from 4.1 million a year ago) and you're not left with much to criticize, or so you would think.
Investors who own stock in Apple have been hyper-sensitive to market conditions in recent years to the point where it almost seems like they're looking for reasons to dump the company's stock. Despite a record quarter, they found their reason yet again, this time due to record iPhone sales being a bit lower than the 54 million to 56 million analysts were expecting.
Apple's stock tumbled more than 8 percent after Apple posted its financial results and is currently trading at around $502 per share, down from around $550 per share before investors hit the panic button. According to Barron's, the mass "selloff is a buying opportunity." How so?
Overall, Apple's first quarter performance was better than expected (talking about dollars and not the number of iPhones it sold). On top of that, Barron's argues that Apple has a "thriving ecosystem" along with $159 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet. In other words, it's in excellent financial shape.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn agrees. After investors dumped their shares and drove the stock price down, Icahn swooped in and invested $500 million in the company, increasing his holdings to around $5 billion.
