Apple Inc (AAPL)

Market share is lower than it was last year because people were waiting for iPhone 5 but now there are issues about producing enough for demand. Difficult for it to grow as fast as it has been doing. Could be attractive in the short term but not in the long term. Take short term profits.

In a bit of a corrective phase here but has pretty good support so your downside risk is pretty minimal. If you own, continue to hold and possibly add some positions as we get into the middle of October.

(A Top Pick Aug 31/11. Up 82.35%.) Estimates are that close to 50 million units of the new phone will be sold in the 1^st quarter of their fiscal year, which is a big jump from 35 million that they did last year.

Probably one of the few guys on the street that doesn’t like this company. It comes down to “don’t confuse a good company with a good investment”. Doesn’t see how this company can continue to produce the kind of gains that it has produced over the years. If you own, consider at least halving your position and put it into something else.

Cheap PE at 14.5%. Based on valuation, the stock is quite low. Long-term growth rate is probably in the 20 percentile. Currently it is kind of overbought. Wait for a bit of a pull back.

Great company, but ultimately, to him, it’s a very cool gadget maker. Questions why you are not paying a lot for this when it generates such great returns so the market feels they are not going to be able to constantly generate those rates of return. This is why they are not giving it a high multiple.

The consensus is that share price will be about 10% higher this year. Has done very well this summer partly because of the lawsuit that went in their favour. It is anticipated that the iPhone 5 will be coming Sept 12. Her question would be, what is their next big product.

Big position for him. Selling as it has moved higher but still has a significant holding. Given the potential for them to introduce new products that will continue the growth rate, he is quite comfortable holding a reduced position. Looking more at the Exit than he is in building a position. Feels the company cannot maintain this momentum of significant product introduction going forward so will see aerations (?) that will maintain the levels of revenue and hopefully the level of cash flow but there is always the potential that the products will mature, commoditize and the margins start to decline and the stock will retreat. In a trading range where the stock can move between $620-$750.

(Top Pick Aug 22/11,Up 87.45%) Trimmed because of size but it is still her biggest position. She has just over 6% and that is a pretty heavy weighting. People should be well diversified. She would be leery of putting a lot of money into it here but would put some in. Next quarter could be a little disappointing because the iPhone 5 doesn’t come out for this quarter.

(A Top Pick Aug 31/11. Up 73.05%.) Still likes.

(A Top Pick Dec 21/11. Up 95.12%.) Bullish Put Spread. Sold Jan’13 420 put @ $70 and Bought Jan’13 380 Put @ $49.50. Was obligated to buy the stock at $420 right through until this January. If he was wrong and the stock collapsed, he had the right to put the stock to somebody else at $380.

How would you play your options before an earnings release? If he were going to do this, he would buy a Straddle that would expire at the end of the week of its earnings release. So you are looking at a weekly option and you would be buying a Call and a Put that would expire on a Friday. Earnings come out on a Tuesday giving you an option that has 3 days to expiry. Look at the cost of the at the money Call and Put on Tuesday before they announce they announce earnings after-hours. That will give you the trading range that the market expects the stock to be in.

(A Top Pick Sept 13/11. Up 65.64%.)

(A Top Pick Aug 15/11. Up 64.39%.) AT&T is preparing their staff for a new product in late September so he presumes this is going to be the iPhone 5. Trading at 10-11 times earnings and still no end in sight for the growth.

Chart shows a period of congestion for most of 2012. There will probably be another move to the upside accompanied by volume.