Apple’s Plunging Value

Apple shareholders sure have taken a beating lately. In fact, things look pretty grim. I dare say that short of Steve Jobs getting caught with 3 dead hookers in his trunk, there isn't much else that could drop their stock price any lower. To give you some perspective, Apple stock was trading around $165 a month ago. As of this past Friday it closed at $97.07, a loss of almost %40 of its value. Overall, this hasn't been a good month for Apple.

Chalk it up to bad timing, but Apple released some mildly negative financial news at exactly the wrong time. The market exploded and Apple has been punished heavily ever since. However, in spite of the fact that several groups on Wall Street have given Apple some fairly bleak prospects, there are several analysts who think differently.

Of course, I'm make no claims at economic prognostication, however I do know a bit about Apple and I do know a good thing when I see it. Right now Apple is producing staggering numbers from the iPhone. Everything from phones sold to applications downloaded, they are making money every way possible from this device. Furthermore, the iPod remains a strong, if unspectacular product line. And considering their ever increasing share of the laptop market and the fact that Christmas is right around the corner, I can't imagine how you couldn't think that $97.07 isn't an absolute steal. None of Apple's competitors (in any market) are doing nearly so well, and yet they haven't been hit nearly as hard. So it looks to me like Apple is terribly undervalued.

But maybe I'm alone on that one. Maybe it really will take a several more months before Apple's stock price recovers. Who knows, maybe we will have to wait until the next MacWorld event. However I think that the current stock valuation is a mistake and pretty soon the market will correct itself. Untill then, though, someone is going to get a great deal.