So I am planning on buying some stock in apple, just a few shares or so considering it is kind if pricey now and maybe more later if it dips down. Anyways, I was planning on simply opening an account with E*Trade and buying like 5 or so shares. Good idea? Better ideas? Thanks
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Buying AAPL stock
- Thread starter jojasary
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I think the most important consideration you should make for yourself is if you can live without the money (as in this ~$1,000 is money you can easily live without).
Consider, for example, if AAPL takes a hit during the Keynote. Will you panic and sell? If not, are you ready to ride out the bumps in the road for a long time?
Otherwise, there are a wide variety of online stock trading websites that have no fees and low transaction costs. Scottrade is one I've seen with some of the lowest prices ($5 per trade IIRC).
Otherwise, if this is your first foray into investments, I suggest you talk to someone more knowledgeable about this stuff. If you don't think you can find such a person, a mutual fund is always a good place to start investing because it is easy, involves little in the way of frequent trading, and is a steady long term growth vehicle.
Consider, for example, if AAPL takes a hit during the Keynote. Will you panic and sell? If not, are you ready to ride out the bumps in the road for a long time?
Otherwise, there are a wide variety of online stock trading websites that have no fees and low transaction costs. Scottrade is one I've seen with some of the lowest prices ($5 per trade IIRC).
Otherwise, if this is your first foray into investments, I suggest you talk to someone more knowledgeable about this stuff. If you don't think you can find such a person, a mutual fund is always a good place to start investing because it is easy, involves little in the way of frequent trading, and is a steady long term growth vehicle.
Apple, is one of the few stocks that I watch, I would trust to rebound, as they already have in the past few weeks. The dipped low, loosing about $100 a share but have rebound nicely.
If you are asking this question, then you probably aren't quite ready to invest just yet.
If you do decide to buy, then I suppose it will be a long-term hold, in which case buy, close your eyes to what happens to the stock for 6 months or so, and don't worry about dips etc. AAPL has good prospects.
If a flat fee is charged for each deal, then 5 shares will take a higher rise in share price to 'break even' than, say, 50 shares. But by all means start small and learn the markets. But you must learn the markets.
If you do decide to buy, then I suppose it will be a long-term hold, in which case buy, close your eyes to what happens to the stock for 6 months or so, and don't worry about dips etc. AAPL has good prospects.
If a flat fee is charged for each deal, then 5 shares will take a higher rise in share price to 'break even' than, say, 50 shares. But by all means start small and learn the markets. But you must learn the markets.
I use Zecco for my stock trading. As long as you have net equity of $2,500 or more, you get 10 free trades a month. So you don't even need to invest $2,500 - you can transfer $3,000 into the account, invest $1,000 (with $2,000 just sitting in the account) and you'll get 10 free trades/month.
It's relatively new on the market - opened in 2006. It doesn't offer very much in the way of professional research/analysis but if you know what you're doing (not to mention the abundance of free research and advice online), it's a great platform to invest off of.
If you're interested, message me your email address and I'll send you a referral link.
It's relatively new on the market - opened in 2006. It doesn't offer very much in the way of professional research/analysis but if you know what you're doing (not to mention the abundance of free research and advice online), it's a great platform to invest off of.
If you're interested, message me your email address and I'll send you a referral link.
At $190 with a 2nd gen iPhone causing way too much positive speculation I'd short it. I'd go long on AAPL at $120.
Blood in the streets: airlines, domestic auto manufacturers, and the U.S. dollar. That's where the bargains are.
Blood in the streets: airlines, domestic auto manufacturers, and the U.S. dollar. That's where the bargains are.
So you are recommending short selling to somebody who doesn't even know how to buy stock?
And airlines? Which one are you buying?
And airlines? Which one are you buying?
he can't short sell without margin anyway.
I don't think Apple goes up before going down first. At least wait for a significant pull-back. You missed the $120 gravy train earlier this year.
Memorize their earnings schedule and sign up for news updates on AAPL.
I don't think Apple goes up before going down first. At least wait for a significant pull-back. You missed the $120 gravy train earlier this year.
Memorize their earnings schedule and sign up for news updates on AAPL.
To me, it sounds like you have a lot of research to do before you're ready to invest. I'd suggest you read The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing by Jason Kelly. It's a great introduction to investing and can be found pretty cheap on Amazon. And start reading http://www.fool.com (also check out their tutorials for beginners).
When I first caught the investment bug I put money into things before I understood what I was doing and lost a lot of money.
That being said, Apple is a great stock to own. It's too bad you didn't get this idea in January, when it was much lower.
In past years, the stock has take a slight dip after the WWDC -- typically because the products or updates unveiled at the event don't live up to the ridiculous hype that preceded them. This year, however, might be different with the new iPhone. If I were a new buyer I'd either buy now or wait until after the WWDC.
Either way, Apple is easily headed to 200 and will be a safe investment for a long time to come. The iPod vanquished the Zune as if it were the Polish military, the iPhone is the hottest smartphone in the world, and the Mac is going to continue gaining market share. Imagine how much money Apple is going to make when today's Mac-loving college students graduate and become the Mac-loving professionals of tomorrow.
If you look at traditional metrics like P/E Apple stock really doesn't look that attractive at these levels, but Apple is currently one of those companies that defies traditional market logic because it has so many intangibles and enormous mindshare. It has a lot of potential, and even more hype.
PLEASE do your research before buying.
When I first caught the investment bug I put money into things before I understood what I was doing and lost a lot of money.
That being said, Apple is a great stock to own. It's too bad you didn't get this idea in January, when it was much lower.
In past years, the stock has take a slight dip after the WWDC -- typically because the products or updates unveiled at the event don't live up to the ridiculous hype that preceded them. This year, however, might be different with the new iPhone. If I were a new buyer I'd either buy now or wait until after the WWDC.
Either way, Apple is easily headed to 200 and will be a safe investment for a long time to come. The iPod vanquished the Zune as if it were the Polish military, the iPhone is the hottest smartphone in the world, and the Mac is going to continue gaining market share. Imagine how much money Apple is going to make when today's Mac-loving college students graduate and become the Mac-loving professionals of tomorrow.
If you look at traditional metrics like P/E Apple stock really doesn't look that attractive at these levels, but Apple is currently one of those companies that defies traditional market logic because it has so many intangibles and enormous mindshare. It has a lot of potential, and even more hype.
PLEASE do your research before buying.
Or buy something else. Investing in companies that you like can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you naturally have an intimate knowledge of that company and its products, how they stack up against competitors, etc.
But on the other hand, having an emotional connection to an investment can be dangerous. The stock market doesn't always go in the same direction as our feelings want it to.
Gee, why don't you teach your toddler how to use a flamethrower while you're at it?
I would not buy any of those things. Airlines and U.S. auto manufacturers are getting slaughtered. They are not bargains, they are headed for financial armageddon. Oil prices are going to go higher, despite their recent pullback.
The airlines probably won't survive without federal assistance of some kind. And the U.S. auto manufacturers are going to continue to get killed by the Japanese companies that are 10 years ahead of the curve on fuel efficiency.
I have some friends who are looking at GM, but I think it's pretty irresponsible to suggest a new investor should look at extremely volatile sectors, shorting, or currency trading. I don't even know how to do some of that stuff.
Are you also predicting that night will follow day?
Seriously, most of the advice I hear in threads like this (they appear every few weeks) are encouraging people to act like traders, not investors. The advice that you should "wait for a pullback" assumes that you know how to time buying and selling. Good luck with that. More often than not, your timing will be wrong. Invest with long-term goals in mind and you won't have to worry about timing and you won't get swept up in market emotions. This is really the only way to go for small investors.
Amen. Although, I do think it is prudent to look for a pullback when you are entering into a stock for the first time, or adding significantly to a position. Otherwise, ignore the impossible-to-predict fluctuations of the market and feel safe in the knowledge that the market goes up 2/3 of the time.
jojasary, for your first stock I would suggest you buy DIA, not AAPL.
This is still an effort to time the market, which will act against you more often than not. You will never know whether you are buying into a "pullback" or a collapse until it's too late. You are trying to catch the falling knife, as they say. You also risk losing out on upward momentum. No, for the small investor I say buy what you know, don't risk more than you can afford to lose, and don't look at the markets every day, unless you want to make yourself poor and crazy.
So you're telling him to buy high, with no regard for the economy, the company's outlook and current investor/trader sentiment/psyche? That's beautiful logic to give someone new to investing -- and the fact that you think that he'll be able to stomach the current market's violent twists and turns - with the little money he has to spare - is a riot. At least buying on an inevitable pull-back will give his conscience a little elbow room, while lowering his cost basis.
In my years I've never ever heard anyone tell me not to look for at least a little value when applicable, regardless of whether or not I wanted in on a stock for the long haul, or short term... and I do this for a living!
Money saved is money earned - period. On the other hand, if you like turning your colon inside out, throw it all on the table!
I'm sorry, but such passive investing is just careless.
You have both misread and misunderstood.
Neither you nor anyone else has any even remotely reliable way of knowing when you are "buying high," or low for that matter. If you've found a way to make this determination please share it. I'm sure your system of knowing in advance has made you a billionaire by now. Right? And if you think a pullback is "inevitable" then I also assume that you are heavily short AAPL. Right?
The bottom line is if you don't believe a company's prospects are good, if you don't understand the business and the market they are in, if you don't have the stomach for market gyrations, then you should not be investing in the stock. Why? Because you will be trading on emotions, not investing. Hanging tough through the market's gyrations with stocks you believe are fundamentally sound is not "passive investing," it is the only smart way to invest. And again, "invest," not "trade." Many people do not seem to know the difference. You have to start with that knowledge, or you will get burned.
You didn't actually respond to any of my points, except for completely misrepresenting some -- so no, the feeling should not be mutual.
I thought most people who come on here asking about buying AAPL were being nostalgic about it. Which is a bad enough method of choosing stock, but so much worse when you're buying that trophy stock when it's overpriced.
As for airlines and automakers: yes, there's instability and turbulence, but I remember Apple being in the same position when their shares were under $20 before the split. But anyone who doesn't watch or understand the markets should probably just max out a Roth IRA and their 401(k) before even thinking about equities.
If you are just buying a few shares of apple stock, just to have them, it doesn't matter what price you buy it at. You won't make or lose much money on 4 or 5 shares.
As far as investing in airlines, yes the high oil prices pushes down earnings in the airline industry, so with stocks like AMR being like $7 you could double your money if oil prices come down next winter. Unless there is a major paradigm shift in the airline industry, however, they'll continue to lose money.
As far as investing in airlines, yes the high oil prices pushes down earnings in the airline industry, so with stocks like AMR being like $7 you could double your money if oil prices come down next winter. Unless there is a major paradigm shift in the airline industry, however, they'll continue to lose money.
What do you mean, overpriced? The market price stocks every day. Some days the market finds a stock overpriced, the next day underpriced.
That's hardly an apt comparison. Even when AAPL was $20 (levels it's been at or below many times, before and after splits), they were not in a market which was fundamentally in deep trouble, as the airlines are today. They were also not in debt. Many of the airlines have been in bankruptcy already and many more will visit one of the chapters before we're done. And what usually happens to shareholder equity in a bankruptcy, even if the company emerges reorganized? It goes bye-bye. That's why I asked you which of the airlines you are buying today. If you're recommending investing in damaged goods, it's a fair question, don't you think?
Here is one airline that I have been looking into:
Stock Symbol: ERJ
http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=ERJ&getquote=Get+Quote
http://moneycentral.msn.com/companyreport?symbol=ERJ
Since airlines was brought up.
Here are some more threads on apple stock:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/482598/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/470875/
Stock Symbol: ERJ
http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=ERJ&getquote=Get+Quote
http://moneycentral.msn.com/companyreport?symbol=ERJ
Since airlines was brought up.
Here are some more threads on apple stock:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/482598/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/470875/