AAPL Stock: To Buy or Not To Buy?

[someguy]

Let me start by saying I know nothing about the stock market.

That said, I would like to learn to make a little extra pocket change in the stock market if possible. I am not a huge fan of losing money, so I'd only buy stock in companies I really, truly feel are safe to do so in.

That said, does anyone here own stock in AAPL? Can you tell me a little bit about how it works and how well it's doing?

I know most are going to say "Read such and such article or guide to the stock market" and I am already doing so (trying to make sense of what I read anyways). But I'm looking to hear from anyone that has AAPL stock and if it's worth it to buy a share or two.

From what I read, the stock is like ~$80 a share. Is this something I should look into? What do you guys think? Educate me a little.

 

[KingYaba]

Don't expect to make pocket change... if you're going to invest in the stock market, you do it on a long-term basis.

Apple is a great company to invest in. THey keep popping these new iPods out, it will only make 'em better. So they are a good company to put in your portfolio... but be sure to diversify.......

If you're thinking about buying two shares, and then selling them a month later, you will lose money on taxes.

You have to keep the stock for at least a year to avoid that 30% tax Bull Shizzle

 

[someguy]

Don't expect to make pocket change... if you're going to invest in the stock market, you do it on a long-term basis.

Apple is a great company to invest in. THey keep popping these new iPods out, it will only make 'em better. So they are a good company to put in your portfolio... but be sure to diversify.......

If you're thinking about buying two shares, and then selling them a month later, you will lose money on taxes.

You have to keep the stock for at least a year to avoid that 30% tax Bull Shizzle

Thanks, good advice! Fortunately for me, I am looking for a semi-long term investment (read: 3-5 years minimum, longer if it makes more sense).

There are just a few things that I don't understand about the stock market:

1) What is the best way to buy stock? Where do I go and how does it work?

2) Is it unreasonable to think that with 2 or 3 shares of AAPL I can make a few hundred dollars over 3-5 years? I know no one knows what is going to happen, but assuming things keep improving in the world of Apple..? If not, what is a reasonable assumption.

Any other tips would be great. I'd really like to start investing my money in something other than Real Estate - which I know well and unfortunately live in an area where it is not very profitable at this time.

 

[someguy]

Another question too, looking at finance.yahoo.com, I see that (if I understand what I'm reading correctly) Apple's stock is around $80 per share, where as Microsoft's stock is only ~$30/share. How does that work when Microsoft is a larger company?

 

[danidoll521]

I have been wondering the same things, about whether to purchase stock in Apple. I'm sure Someguy would appreciate any suggestions you guys might have, as would I. Firsthand knowledge from someone who has owned stock in Apple would be extremely helpful.

Also, Someguy, I would assume that buying stock in Microsoft would be safe...they're certainly not going anywhere.

 

[iJaz]

Another question too, looking at finance.yahoo.com, I see that (if I understand what I'm reading correctly) Apple's stock is around $80 per share, where as Microsoft's stock is only ~$30/share. How does that work when Microsoft is a larger company?

You can't count like that, you have to see hoe many stocks there are also, then you get the compny's total "value".
For example stock splits occur when the stocks have reached a "too high" value, then you get the double amount of stocks but to a lower value.

 

[scott523]

A little late to buy. You can try waiting 'til it gets down to the $65-75 range then jump on it and ride the waves to MWSF '07.

 

[someguy]

A little late to buy. You can try waiting 'til it gets down to the $65-75 range then jump on it and ride the waves to MWSF '07.

Well, I'm thinking if I'm going to do it, it's gotta be before Leopard is released. That sounds like a smart idea, right?

 

[IJ Reilly]

Another question too, looking at finance.yahoo.com, I see that (if I understand what I'm reading correctly) Apple's stock is around $80 per share, where as Microsoft's stock is only ~$30/share. How does that work when Microsoft is a larger company?

Share price is not a meaningful way of valuing a company. You have to look at market capitalization, which is the total market value of all shares. Microsoft has a lot more shares outstanding than Apple. Probably the single best way to determine whether a company is doing well is to look at earnings per share (EPS) and EPS growth. Others will point to price/earning ratios (PE), but really this number tells you a lot more about the past than the future.

Investing in the stock market, and AAPL in particular, is not for the feint-hearted. Just look at the pounding AAPL has taken over the past few days, for no apparent reason.

 

[someguy]

Share price is not a meaningful way of valuing a company. You have to look at market capitalization, which is the total market value of all shares. Microsoft has a lot more shares outstanding than Apple. Probably the single best way to determine whether a company is doing well is to look at earnings per share (EPS) and EPS growth. Others will point to price/earning ratios (PE), but really this number tells you a lot more about the past than the future.

Investing in the stock market, and AAPL in particular, is not for the feint-hearted. Just look at the pounding AAPL has taken over the past few days, for no apparent reason.

I see. Well if I had $500, I'd invest in Google.

I'm just looking for a somewhat safe investment to make a couple bucks over a long period of time. I will have money in CD's at the bank soon, but you gotta get a little fun out of it too, so why not play in the stock market a little.

Thanks again so far for all the tips and comments. I'm looking for all the advice I can get.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Well, I'm thinking if I'm going to do it, it's gotta be before Leopard is released. That sounds like a smart idea, right?

Oh that it were that simple. Apple's OS releases don't have that much impact on the company's bottom line, and therefore they don't move the stock price in an obvious way. In fact the price can and often does go down when new products are released, if the market-watchers had already bid up the stock hoping for something more or different. On any given day, month or even year, the movements of any given stock can seem utterly irrational and illogical.

 

[ATD]

The best time to buy is when a company is down not when it's going up fast like it is now. If you do buy now keep it for the long term (years). I bought at $11 when wall street was ready to write off Apple. I don't think that many of these articles that we see are very helpful for the long term investment, like wall street itself they tend to be very short sighted.

 

[someguy]

Oh that it were that simple. Apple's OS releases don't have that much impact on the company's bottom line, and therefore they don't move the stock price in an obvious way. In fact the price can and often does go down when new products are released, if the market-watchers had already bid up the stock hoping for something more or different. On any given day, month or even year, the movements of any given stock can seem utterly irrational and illogical.

Hm. Maybe I'd be better off waiting until AFTER Leopard is released, buying then say maybe in the $60-range somewhere?

Any chance of it dropping that low anytime soon?

My thinking was that Apple's marketshare is slowly, but steadily rising, and I want to get it on the game before it gets any higher. I'm not going to invest more than I can stand to lose, but I'd like to have a little fun and make a little bit of money, too, if possible.

The best time to buy is when a company is down not when it's going up fast like it is now. If you do buy now keep it for the long term (years). I bought at $11 when wall street was ready to write off Apple. I don't think that many of these articles that we see are very helpful for the long term investment, like wall street itself they tend to be very short sighted.

I see. But is it logical to think that Apple stock is going to go down much at all when everything I see and read seems to point to the outcome of Apple growing tremendously over the next few years (as it has begun to in the past few)?

 

[ATD]

I see. But is it logical to think that Apple stock is going to go down much at all when everything I see and read seems to point to the outcome of Apple growing tremendously over the next few years (as it has begun to in the past few)?

Hard to say, this year it was up to 86 then down to the low 50s now back up again. It has to do with wall streets short sighted view of the world instead of real growth. I'm not ready to sell yet.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Hm. Maybe I'd be better off waiting until AFTER Leopard is released, buying then say maybe in the $60-range somewhere?

Any chance of it dropping that low anytime soon?

I sure hope not, but of course nobody knows. Investing in stocks can be very scary and frustrating. Sometimes, I don't even look at my portfolio for weeks at a time. This is probably not the sort of advice you'd get from a "pro" investor but I've been at it for many years and still can't bear to follow the short-term market gyrations. As a small individual investor you will often feel like you are being diced up as chum and thrown on the water by the big institutional investors, who are the people who really move the markets. Be prepared, is my message. It isn't all fun, not by a long shot.

 

[lmalave]

I hate to be a spoilsport, but investing in the stock market is like gambling. The problem is that it's not enough to say that a company is doing really well and will continue to do so in the future. If everyone believed that, then the stock price will *already* reflect that optimism. The only way to "beat the market" is to invest in a company because you feel you have some special insight that goes *against* the general consensus that is currently determening the stock price. The problem is that when you buy stock you're competeing with Mutual Fund managers and Hedge Fund managers, whose sole job it is to look for these type of undervalued opportunities.

My suggestion: invest in an S&P 500 mutual fund instead of in a specific stock. That way you're basically betting on the *entire* stock market, which historically has outperformed inflation by something like 8% and has outperformed any other type of investment. Like a poster above said, though, you have to be in it for the long haul...

 

[WildCowboy]

Investing in individual companies by buying just a couple of shares isn't usually a good way to make money. The commissions eat your profit up pretty quickly. Say you use an online brokerage that charges $10 per trade. So to buy and sell the stock, it costs you $20. If you only buy two shares of the company's stock, its share price has to go up by $10 (which in Apple's case is over 12%) before you even start making money.

My general rule is that if you can't afford to put $1000 in a stock, it's generally not a good idea to buy.

Yes, some people want to own a share or two of AAPL just to say that they own a piece of the company. That's cool if you're doing it for those reasons, but not if you think it's going to make you a bundle of money...the chances of that happening are awfully slim.

 

[someguy]

Investing in individual companies by buying just a couple of shares isn't usually a good way to make money. The commissions eat your profit up pretty quickly. Say you use an online brokerage that charges $10 per trade. So to buy and sell the stock, it costs you $20. If you only buy two shares of the company's stock, its share price has to go up by $10 (which in Apple's case is over 12%) before you even start making money.

My general rule is that if you can't afford to put $1000 in a stock, it's generally not a good idea to buy.

Yes, some people want to own a share or two of AAPL just to say that they own a piece of the company. That's cool if you're doing it for those reasons, but not if you think it's going to make you a bundle of money...the chances of that happening are awfully slim.

Makes sense.

I wouldn't be buying with the idea of making a bundle of money anytime soon, or just to say I own part of the company. Really what I'm interested in doing is getting a little hands on experience in the stock market, and why not with a company I happen to like and that I believe has a bright future ahead of it. I guess the idea is really just to learn over time and see how everything works first-hand. I think Apple is a good place to start, but maybe I am wrong.

 

[Clydefrog]

I would buy it, macworld it going to be big, iphone, touchscreen ipod, etc, etc buy it while its low