Apple Reaches $490 Million Settlement Over China Sales CommentsApple ( NASDAQ:AAPL ), the tech giant synonymous with innovation and cutting-edge products, finds itself embroiled in a significant legal saga following a $490 million settlement over allegations of shareholder deception. The lawsuit, stemming from Chief Executive Tim Cook's remarks regarding iPhone demand in China, has drawn attention to the complexities of corporate transparency and accountability in the ever-evolving global marketplace.
The Genesis of the Lawsuit:
At the heart of the controversy lies Apple's unexpected announcement on January 2, 2019, revealing a staggering cut in quarterly revenue forecasts by up to $9 billion. This abrupt disclosure, attributed to escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, sent shockwaves through the market and triggered a swift decline in Apple's share price.
Tim Cook's Statements Under Scrutiny:
Central to the lawsuit is Chief Executive Tim Cook's remarks during an analyst call on November 1, 2018, where he downplayed concerns about iPhone sales in China. Despite acknowledging sales pressures in other markets, Cook notably excluded China from the list of countries facing challenges. However, subsequent actions, including directives to suppliers to curb production, painted a starkly different picture, raising questions about the accuracy and transparency of Cook's statements.
The Legal Battle Unfolds:
Following the revelation of diminished iPhone demand and the subsequent plunge in Apple's stock price, shareholders swiftly took action, filing a class-action lawsuit against the tech behemoth. The preliminary settlement, amounting to $490 million, represents a significant milestone in the protracted legal battle, albeit subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
Implications and Fallout:
While Apple ($APPL) has denied liability, opting to settle to avoid prolonged litigation, the ramifications of the lawsuit extend far beyond the courtroom. The settlement underscores the importance of corporate transparency and accountability, serving as a cautionary tale for companies navigating the complexities of global markets.
The Road Ahead:
As Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL ) navigates the aftermath of the settlement, stakeholders and investors are left pondering the broader implications for corporate governance and investor confidence. The tech giant's meteoric rise since the onset of the lawsuit, with its share price quadrupling and market value exceeding $2.6 trillion, adds another layer of complexity to the narrative.
AAPL
How to trade AAPLAAPL, now at 170.78 on MArch-15-2024 ::
Looks like broad flat pattern in progress in Wave4 ( Per EW , wave 4 is a consolidation phase )
Simple Strategy to investors.
buy at cmp,
Wait and buy again at lower trendline at around 167.5
Hold with conviction for 4 to 6 months
Target price to watch --> 202-204
🔜 S&P 500. A key point between Bull Extension and Bear ReversalThe S&P 500 Index ( SPY) Wednesday closed down -0.22%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index
DIA closed up +0.10%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index (QQQ) closed down -0.83%.
Stocks Wednesday saw downward pressure from the +4.1 bp rise in the 10-year T-note and a sell-off of more than -2% in key chip stocks.
However, the Dow Jones Industrials saw support from blue chips such as 3M
(MMM), with a gain of +5.42%, and gains of more than +1% in Travelers (TRV), Chevron (CVX), Caterpillar (CAT), Home Depot (HD), NIKE (NKE), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Coca Cola (KO).
Stocks on Wednesday gave back some ground after Tuesday’s +1.5% rally in the Nasdaq 100 index that was sparked by optimism that the U.S. Feb CPI report was not as bad as feared and the Feb core CPI dipped to a 2-3/4 year low of +3.8% y/y. However, the Feb headline CPI of +3.2% y/y was slightly above expectations of +3.1% and was 0.2 points above last June’s 2-3/4 year low of +3.0%. Both CPI measures remain well above the Fed’s +2% inflation target.
Fed Breadcrumbs
Fed Chair Powell said last week that the Fed is “not far” from having enough confidence to cut interest rates. However, the markets are discounting the odds at virtually zero that the Fed will cut interest rates at its meeting next week since inflation is still too far above target. The odds for a rate cut are much better for the June meeting.
The markets are discounting the chances for a -25 bp rate cut at 1% for next week’s March 19-20 FOMC meeting, 13% for the following meeting on April 30-May 1, and 73% for the meeting after that on June 11-12.
Economic Reports
In some positive news for the housing market, the MBA mortgage applications index rose +7.1% in the week ended March 8, after rising +9.7% in the previous week. Mortgage purchases rose +4.7%, and refinancings rose +12.2%. The MBA’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the latest week fell to a 5-week low of 6.84% from 7.02% in the previous week. The mortgage rate is currently only 13 bp above the 10-month low of 6.71% posted in December.
On the U.S. economic report front, the markets are awaiting Thursday’s U.S. retail sales and PPI reports. Feb retail sales are expected to show an increase of +0.8% m/m, reversing Jan’s -0.8% decline. Feb retail sales ex-autos are expected to rise +0.5% m/m, reversing most of Jan’s -0.6% decline. The Feb final-demand PPI is expected to rise to +1.2% y/y from Jan’s +0.9%, but the core PPI is expected to ease to +1.9% y/y from Jan’s +2.0%.
Interest Rates
June 10-year T-notes (ZNM24) Wednesday closed down -7.5 ticks. The 10-year T-note yield rose by +4.1 bp to 4.192%, up from last Friday’s 5-week low of 4.034%. T-note prices saw weakness on (1) carry-over bearishness from Tuesday’s stronger-than-expected CPI report, and (2) Wednesday’s slight rise in the 10-year breakeven inflation expectations rate to 2.31%.
T-note prices also saw supply overhang with the Treasury in the market again Wednesday, along with strong corporate bond issuance. The Treasury Wednesday sold $25 billion of 30-year T-bonds, after selling $54 billion of 3-year T-notes on Monday and $42 billion of 10-year T-notes on Tuesday.
Inflation Fears
Oil prices rose about 3% to a four-month high on Thursday (March 14) on a surprise withdrawal in US crude inventories reported on Wednesday (March 13), a bigger-than-expected drop in US petrol stocks and potential supply disruptions after recent terrorist Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.
Putin says Ukraine trying to disrupt Russia's presidential election.
Brent crude oil futures rose to nearly $85 per barrel - the highest mark since November, 2023. In technical terms, crude oil futures are on positive path in 2024 with near 9% YTD return, attempt to hold firmly above weekly SMA(52), while the epic triangle' breakthrough can be nearby.
High Risk - High Reward
S&P500 index (SPY) is on positive path in 2024 with +9.28% YTD return in this time. This is a 3rd highest YTD return by this time of year, next to 2012 and 2019 returns by mid-March.
Technical graph for S&P500 indicates that we are near upper line of upside channel, thanks to recent Santa rally and slight signs of US Govt Treasuries buyout in Q4 2023.
Following this path, there can a possible Bull extension, as Reversed Head-and-Shoulders Price Pattern can be in further development.
On the other hand, inflation fears can extend also, just to erase all the Bullish gain in 2024.
Please God, Just One More Bubble. What Crying 2000's Are CallingChastened by the tech bust, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have spent the last couple of years taking startups back to basics. No longer could they expect to turn an idea scribbled on a napkin into an instant company and cash out in a couple of years. To get funding and go public, companies had to have solid technology and business models, experienced management, reasonable valuations -- and, above all, profits. This reassuring regime made it easy to laugh at a bumper sticker sighted around the Valley last year: "Please God, just one more bubble."
Now, it looks less like a joke than a warning. Too many tech investors, from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road, seem to be ignoring why they crashed after the 1990s hit a dead end. Venture capitalists are pouring money into look-alike startups in nascent sectors such as social networking. Even after a recent swoon, stocks of some dot-coms, such as eBay Inc. (EBAY ), look pricey. And not only are more money-losing companies going public, initial valuations can be distinctly frothy. Google Inc.'s imminent offering, for instance, could value the search engine phenom at $36 billion. Says Bill Burnham, managing partner of the VC firm Softbank Capital Partners: "Some people expect the good old days will be back and they can party like it's 1999."
Indeed, the rise in shaky initial public offerings may be the most worrisome indicator that not all investors have learned their lesson. Some 44% of the companies going public so far this year were losing money, compared with only 30% last year, according to the investment bank Renaissance Capital. "They've lowered the bar," says Renaissance analyst Paul Bard. Why? "The VCs are pushing their companies to go out," says Jef Graham, CEO of networking startup Peribit Networks Inc., which has held off going public for now. "Bankers are like sharks smelling blood in the water."
That was a part of Bloomberg publication , dated on August 25, 2004.
It's gone 20 years or so..
- Something changed?
- Nope. Nasdaq-100 is near the same 'red lines'.
Is Nvidia and the Top 10 short opportunities? Nvidia’s stock price surge has triggered discussions of a potential "bubble" in AI stocks.
Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, has recently expressed her concern and reduced Ark's exposure to Nvidia, citing the possibility of overly optimistic expectations, prompting her to sell a modest $4.5 million worth of Nvidia shares. So perhaps she is not overly concerned about a bubble bursting.
But it's not just Nvidia that has some analysts worried. Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Rowan's wealth management, pointed out that the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 are currently more overvalued than the top 10 during the mid-1990s tech bubble.
Jeremy Grantham echoed concerns about overvaluation, warning of an impending burst of the AI bubble. But Grantham is a permanent wall street doomsdayer, so take this warning with some skepticism.
In contrast, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, expressed optimism about artificial intelligence, emphasizing its tangible applications in various sectors such as cybersecurity and pharmaceutical research. Dimon stressed that unlike the hype surrounding the internet bubble, AI's potential is genuine and substantial.
Maybe this means that similarly inflated stocks like CrowdStrike (cybersecurity) and Eli Lilly (pharmaceutical) can live up to the potential that their high stock prices are indicating? Or maybe there are additional shorting opportunities with these two stocks?
Buffett Trims Position in AAPL ! The End of the Apple Car Dream In the wake of Apple Inc.'s recent fiscal first-quarter results, a concerning narrative unfolds as the tech giant faces significant challenges.
Sales in China plummeted by 13%, amounting to $20.8 billion in the quarter ending December 30. This stark decline not only fell short of analysts' expectations, who had predicted $23.5 billion, but also marked Apple's weakest December quarter performance in the Asian nation since the beginning of 2020.
The downward trajectory doesn't seem to stop there. In a notable move, Goldman Sachs has removed Apple stock from its 'U.S. Conviction List,' casting doubt on the company's short-term prospects. This decision by one of the world's leading investment banks signals a loss of confidence in Apple's ability to outperform in the market.
Adding to the turbulence is the breaking news that Apple is winding down its ambitious electric car plans, ending a decade-long venture. According to reports from Bloomberg, the company is set to cut some employees associated with the Apple car project, with many expected to transition to focus on artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. This strategic shift raises questions about Apple's ability to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving tech landscape, especially given the intensifying competition in the AI sector.
Adding to the mounting concerns surrounding Apple Inc. (AAPL), Berkshire Hathaway, led by legendary investor Warren Buffett, made a notable move in its latest 13F filing. Dated February 14 and covering the period ending December 31, 2023, the report reveals a strategic decision by Berkshire Hathaway to sell approximately 10 million shares of Apple.
My Price Target for AAPL is $168 by mid 2024.
APPL INCApple Share Pullback Sparks Renewed Optimism for Future Gains
Description:
In the dynamic realm of financial markets, Apple Inc. (AAPL) has recently experienced a share price pullback, igniting both caution and excitement among investors. The recent downturn saw the stock price temporarily declining, triggering a wave of stop-loss orders. However, astute market observers are now contemplating a potential reversal in this trend, as historical patterns and fundamental indicators suggest the possibility of an upward trajectory in the near future.
The Apple share pullback, though unsettling for some, is a common occurrence in the ever-evolving landscape of stock trading. Markets are often subject to fluctuations driven by a multitude of factors, including macroeconomic conditions, industry trends, and investor sentiment. Such periodic declines can be interpreted as opportunities for shrewd investors who understand the company's underlying strengths and potential for growth.
As stop-loss orders were triggered during the recent pullback, some market participants may have been compelled to sell their Apple shares to limit potential losses. This mass selling could have contributed to the temporary decline in the stock price. However, seasoned investors are aware that market sentiment can sometimes overshadow a company's intrinsic value. Apple's robust product ecosystem, consistent innovation, and global brand recognition are formidable assets that have historically propelled its stock price to new heights.
Investor optimism is buoyed by historical precedence, as Apple has demonstrated resilience and the ability to rebound from similar setbacks in the past. Notably, the company has exhibited a history of recovering from pullbacks and establishing renewed momentum in its stock price. This pattern underscores the potential for a similar resurgence in the wake of the recent downturn.
Furthermore, fundamental indicators continue to paint a positive picture for Apple's future prospects. The company's strong financials, consistent revenue growth, and ongoing expansion into emerging markets contribute to a favorable outlook. As Apple continues to innovate across its diverse product portfolio, including smartphones, wearables, and services, the potential for increased revenue streams and sustained market dominance remains compelling.
In conclusion, while the recent Apple share pullback may have triggered stop-loss orders and temporarily dampened investor sentiment, it also presents an intriguing opportunity for those who recognize the company's underlying strengths. Historical patterns of recovery, coupled with robust fundamental indicators, suggest that Apple's stock price may be poised for an upward movement in the near future. As always, investors should exercise diligence, conduct thorough research, and consult with financial advisors before making any investment decisions
APPLE Trading Opportunity! BUY!
My dear friends,
Please, find my technical outlook for APPLE below:
The instrument tests an important psychological level 170.73
Bias - Bullish
Technical Indicators: Supper Trend gives a precise Bullish signal, while Pivot Point HL predicts price changes and potential reversals in the market.
Target - 176.80
About Used Indicators:
Super-trend indicator is more useful in trending markets where there are clear uptrends and downtrends in price.
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WISH YOU ALL LUCK
APPLE $AAPL - Feb. 23rd, 2024APPLE NASDAQ:AAPL - Feb. 23rd, 2024
BUY/LONG ZONE (GREEN): $187.15 - $196.20 (can be extended to 185.00)
DO NOT TRADE/DNT ZONE (WHITE): $181.50 - $187.15 (can be shortened to 185.00)
SELL/SHORT ZONE (RED): $175.40 - $181.50
Weekly: DNT
Daily: DNT, Lean Bearish
4H: Bearish
Currently would not enter in Apple, NASDAQ:AAPL , as I believe the current zone is untradeable, but something I would be looking for in the next week or so. Bulls could enter around 187.15, but an earlier entry might be above the current daily candle (also the current 4h structural high) around 185.00 or at the top of the bearish zone at 181.50. I did draw a bearish zone although I personally would not be looking to go short. The daily timeframe is lean bearish because the most recent level break was to the downside, weekly would need to see a new low (lower than the most recent two weeks) or a close below level 181.50 to be switched to bearish. 4H has strong bearish structure despite seeing two green days out of the last three.
This is what I would personally look at before entering trades, everything is subject to change on a daily basis and as I analyze different timeframes and ideas.
ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY, NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE!
Apple's Bullish TrendNASDAQ:AAPL recently bounced off the $180 support level and building a bullish trend to the upside suggesting that Apple's stock price is poised for further growth.
One of the key drivers behind the bullish sentiment is Apple's continued dominance in the smartphone market. With the recent launch of the iPhone 16 series, the company has once again demonstrated its ability to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. The new lineup has been well-received by consumers and is expected to contribute significantly to Apple's top-line growth in the coming quarters.
With a strong product lineup, a growing Services business, and a solid financial position, the company is well-positioned to reach the $197 price target in the coming months. Taste The APPLE!
#APPLE
aapl → are you ready for a dump?!hello guys...
as you can see apple engulfed the last support and demand zone as a flip area!
on the other hand, made two QM patterns! we can consider it as QMC and QMR too!
those two blue areas are great for getting short positions!
target is 181.6 and 171.3.
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always do your research.
If you have any questions, you can write them in the comments below, and I will answer them.
And please don't forget to support this idea with your likes and comment
APPLE Long-term buying commencing.Apple (AAPL) is exactly -15% down since the December 14 2023 High and is approaching the Support Zone of the October 26 2023 Low. We are currently on the 3rd major correction of the last 18 months and being that close to both the Support Zone and the bottom of the Channel Down, suggests that institutional buying should be initiated.
If the current overall market volatility evolves into a short-term correction towards the Fed Rate Decision later this month, then there is always the possibility of Apple experiencing another -10% decline. But the upside even from the current level is greater at almost +30% and that is a conservative target based purely on the Higher highs trend-line since the August 17 2022 High.
We recommend buying now and if the price drops more as mentioned, a final buy on the 1W MA200 (red trend-line), which has been untouched for almost 8 years (since June 28 2016)! Our Target for late Q2 is $215.00. Note also that the 1D RSI hasn't been that low (oversold at 23.00) since February 02 2018, which adds more to the bullish case.
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$APPL aiming for an IHS pattern perhaps given low RSI$APPL plan for the next few days is based on the potential test of $165.5. I think once we see action around this level, $APPL could bounce nicely to around $175. The chart does not favors a steady recovery. I think as long as $APPL's management is unable to articulate a credible strategy around AI in the short term the stock will continue to be weak. Considering the low RSI, I'd favor a bounce. I think $APPL could support the market if they tank other magnificent 7. We may see NASDAQ:META tanking from the $490s into the $400s for example while $APPL takes of into the $180-190s by Q2 or so. Perhaps it is also a good time for the Board to consider replacing Tim Cook to a visionary, as Tim has been a good operator but for another time. We need someone like John Ives or similar. Let's see what the market brings for $APPL in the coming days. Here's a path that I see could develop> Inverse Head and Shoulders, repairing of some singles around 177-178, and then test of 180.9. Of course market makers will ensure to keep most premiums as usual.
$APPL is at crossroadsI think NASDAQ:AAPL missed the AI PR train, even if APPL has been developing something with Siri, it is late to the game and the market is not rewarding Apple for a delayed product launch. Perhaps this can be remedied and APPL is probably attempting to do this by cancelling its EV plans earlier this month. Market is saying this is not enough and wants to see Apple walking the talk. I don't think Tim Apple is the right CEO for this new world of Apple, and may soon be replaced with a visionary. I think the hiring of John Ive in replacement for Tim Apple could put APPL in a path towards the $300s, as long as AAPL board does not get this, Tim Apple could bring down apple into the 60s by 2027 or so. So far, our strategy of buying short term puts at 175 to hedge the long calls helped a bit but now we're flat. I may exit the position of AAPL to rethink a bit of what is this story all about.