Opinions John Zechner
Apple IncAAPLCOMMENTOct 01, 2024
John ZechnerStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Aug 18, 2026. Market Open.
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Since March, he's bought this 6 times and it kept moving higher. It's up 26% since the June 25 low of $273. It is losing near-term momentum, for sure, and is vulnerable to a deeper decline. When it does, the stock will pause, and he will continue to buy more, because this is the Mag 7 stock that will stand above the others.
Joe Terranova
With Apple, there are always fundamental issues--manufacturing, chips, China, competition--which heat up as the PE rises, now 33x. If you're overweight Apple, they reduce their holding until the market climbs on the bandwagon when Apple is cheap and people load up. It always happens. She is happy to hold.
He sold half his position. It was frothy at $330 going into earnings. There's margin pressure from the rising costs of chips going into their new iPhones. While others were saying that Apple finally was going AI, he's still waiting. If you have an oversize position, takes some profits. But if your average cost of $15 and you're long term, then you'll pay a mighty big capital gains tax. Doubts this will fall back to $200. The fundamentals have not changed. Overall, the chart moves up with ups and downs. If this falls to $270, he's back in. Now, it's too expensive at 33x PE. He'd add at 25x PE though doubts we'll reach that.
Jim LebenthalHuge runup, she took profits. Great job building one of the strongest ecosystems in the world. Last quarter was strong. Warned that margins in coming quarters may be pressured by higher memory costs and supply constraints. Still playing catchup in AI.
Still likes it, but sees better value in companies that are building AI infrastructure rather than buying it. Be patient.
He sold half his holding yesterday before earnings, because this was priced for perfection after a tremendous run. Still trading around a rich 35x PE. Also, they suffer price increase on chips from Qualcomm. Apple still makes up 6.5% of his portfolio.
Jim Lebenthal
They avoided the AI spending crazy and took a measured approach, then partnered with other companies that did spend. These AI models will become commodities. It's interesting that CEO Tim Cook's successor is the head of hardware; he expects a serious change in Apple hardware which is where capital will be deployed. They will retain their loyal customers.
There's a lot of money going into it. There are 2.5 billion Apple devices in the world is no joke. And they could deliver AI in them. There's room to run. He wrote a covered call at a $350 strike; if it stalls here a bit, he gets paid an options premium. He loves it. He's been in and out of it for 15 years. Likes the coming cycle: the flip phone, prospects in China. Apple Intelligence is just getting started which can help with a multi-year upgrade cycle.
It's hard to argue against Microsoft. They've earned the higher valuation. He himself started using Microsoft Office 365 instead of spending a lot more to replace his company's server, and 365 has worked seamlessly. This is why MSFT is winning cloud business. Yes, MSFT is expensive. Hold if you own it. Apple is also a good business. Them and Androids run 80% of phone software globally; Apple continues to add features which will enhance growth. There's too much hype in AI rejuvenating iPhones. People will upgrades phones anyway.