Apple Stock Drops Below $600 in Morning Trading

Just a couple days before the iPad mini is set to launch—early reviews here—and a couple daysafter announcing management shake ups—our take—Apple stock has dropped below $600 in trading today. Is The Street worried? Did Hurricane Sandy give people the jitters? Or is it something else?

Reported by Forbes, BI, BGR, CNET, and others this morning, Apple Stock (AAPL) has dropped below $600 in the first day Wall Street could react to Monday’s management shakeup announcement. It looks like The Street is nervous, despite the fact many insiders are happy with Tim Cook’s new course and leadership. But as Forbes’ Eric Savitz pointed out, Apple hasn’t been perfect of late:

• Opening weekend iPhone 5 sales fell short of estimates.
• The Apple maps app in iOS6 has been widely derided as inferior to Google Maps.
• September quarter profits were shy of Street estimates.
• The company warned that gross margins are going to fall sharply in the December quarter.
• Also, iPad sales in the latest quarter were sell short of expectations.
• The Street is not happy with the relatively high price of the iPad Mini, at $329 versus $199 for rival tablets from Google and Amazon and others.
• This morning, reviews for the iPad Mini are generally positive, but some thing it is a shade too big – it won’t fit in your pockets – and others are not happy with the lower resolution screen Apple is using compared to the larger iPad.

Is this the end of Apple glory? Are we going to stop counting off the days until AAPL hits $1000? No, doubtful. This is a bump in the road, because, as Eric closes with:

Signs of the crumbling of civilization? Well, no. But it all comes at a time when the company is being by bombarded by capable competitors in both the smartphone and tablet market. Microsoft is taking dead aim at the tablet opportunity in the enterprise; Steve Ballmer also noted this week that Windows 8 upgrade demand has been robust. There are improved handsets coming on the market from Samsung, Nokia and HTC and others.

Add it all up, and a management shift at Apple makes some observers wonder if the company is going to see tougher sledding from here. Via: Apple Slides As Investors React to Management Shake-Up – Forbes

So given that Tim has taken the reins, stepped up to the leadership plate, and is preparing to fight the good fight (for innovation and that Apple touch that might have been lost lately), I believe this is a truly temporary slip.

Source : http://www.iphonehacks.com/2012/10/apple-stock-drops-below-600-in-morning-trading.html