Apples Stock Movement 2017

In 2017, AAPL has performed quite well. It started the year off at $115 and today is selling for $170. 2017 has been a great year for stocks, with the election of President Trump seeming to have a lot to do with the rise in equities across the board, as the market has expected the President to introduce tax cuts that would be good for businesses like Apple. I was attracted specifically to Apple because I am an Apple user, enjoy the products, have many friends who enjoy the products and think it is a great brand to be a part of. I think that it will continue to perform well thanks to the creative forces within the company and the good leadership at the top of the company.

I bought AAPL at $156 and sold at $174 for an 11.5% gain. I purchased the stock because Apple is one of the top five stocks on the Nasdaq and one of the top companies in the world. It pays a high dividend and is sought after by serious investors. It is liquid, easy to buy and sell, and its products are in demand. It has a strong brand that is highly competitive and is considered a strong investment by many banks like the Swiss National Bank, which has a larger holding of AAPL shares than even investment companies like Schwab. AAPL is clearly a strong stock and with central banks around the world continuing to use quantitative easing to prop up the stock markets, it makes sense to buy a stock like AAPL, hold for gain over a short amount of time while the bull market in equities continues in the U.S. and sell before the bull turns bearish.

The stock performed as I expected it to as much of the news was about how the market was responding favorably to the Trump presidency. Trump himself has tweeted out on numerous occasions the significant rise in the stock market and has taken credit for its rise. The seemingly pro-business Administration was, therefore, giving stocks a boost and it did not look like the boost was going to stop anytime soon, especially with a tax plan still in the works that would essentially seal the deal. For a company like Apple in particular with so much money held offshore because of the high taxation rate in the U.S., a tax plan that lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% would be very welcome news and mean that Apple could repatriate some of its offshore holdings and reinvest them in the U.S.

Apple was also set to release a new iPhone and that is typically welcome news in the market and good for Apple’s stock. Interest in the iPhones continues to be impressive though there is some news that the iPhone market may have peaked especially as competitors in the phone industry put out products at equal value. So I determined while the stock was up to take my profit and sell for a nice gain. I did not want to see the stock negatively impacted by company news that might not be too welcome by the market.

And though unwelcome company news could have negatively impacted the stock, I was not too concerned by that because so many others stocks are surging in spite of a lack of real earnings—stocks like Tesla and Netflix, for example. Plus, since Apple is one of the FANG stocks—Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google—that have been driving the Nasdaq and inviting big investors to purchase the stock even at these all-time high valuations, I assumed investors would continue to buy in.
Interest rates are still low and investors seeking a significant return really have no choice right now but to buy into the stocks that are driving the market—stocks like Apple. If the Fed actually decides to really start raising rates significantly, the market could pull back—so that is why I would be reluctant to hold onto these stocks for much longer.