Apple Announces Stock Split

[wide]

I was thinking of getting some apple stock. Where is a good place online to buy some. DOes anyone know?

Location: FL how does one go about owning some stock?

Well, you need to find a broker first. Most large brokerage firms let you buy, sell, and short stocks online. Off the top my my head, there is CyberTrader, ShareBuilder, Schwab, Fidelity, E*trade, Ameritrade, and Scottrade.

I personally use Schwab (www.schwab.com) but I think it is more expensive than other firms. If you do not own stock currently, I think ShareBuilder (www.sharebuilder.com) might be a good choice. Their basic program, which I believe has no monthly fee but costs $4 per trade (called a commission fee--in contrast, Schwab charges me $9.95 as a commission fee). Subscription programs can lower that cost to $2 and $1 depending on how much you are willing to pay per month. Just beware: real-time market orders are much more expensive, and are unimportant for the average investor that wants to be long a stock (be long = to have stock in ones portfolio).

Mikintosh--I have stock in Apple. I bought it at around $35 per share--undet half a year ago. For that reason, I would be careful putting money into Apple. It is very rare for a company to be trading well in excess of 100% of its value six months before. While I think it was undervalued a year ago, its rapid growth has made it, in my perspective, a very volatile investment. I have not sold yet because I believe it will push further, but it is important that you understand that its growth is abnormal and, by many valuations, unjustifiable.

...in other words, I would not put my life's savings into Apple right now.

Good luck!

-wide

 

[macidiot]

What is the effect of doing this? I understand the fact that there are now twice as many shares available at half the price, but what is the real economic effect?

-ac2102

None really. Its basically the difference between a $10 bill and 2 $5 bills.

 

[dicklacara]

For those currently holding shares through brokerage firms:

Do you still receive proxy's in the mail? Or have the option for a stock certificate? Do you get any other notices from Apple in the mail i.e. notice of shareholder's meetings etc?

Or does that information go to your broker?

Either way, your option!

You still own the stock regardless if it is at your brokers or in your safe at home. You are entitled to receive all the proxies, dividends, etc.

Day traders usually don't care because they only hold a position for a short period of time (hours or days). Though some do get creative around a stock's data-of-record (AAPL Feb 18) for a split or dividend. Their position may be long-gone by the date of execution (AAPL Market Close Feb 28). But if they had the position on the date-of-record, they get the results as of the date of execution (add'l shares or dollars)

 

[ChronoIMG]

That's true... increasing iPod growth will probably lead to increasing stock growth. I don't think that really has anything to do directly with a split though. Historically speaking with AAPL, splits have not lead to significant immediate growth.

While I would agree; back when Apple had splits they weren't in the music business. Everyone knows that if Apple weren't in the music business we wouldn't even be having this discussion as the stock would probably still be at $14

 

[dicklacara]

That's the day my .Mac account renews. I guess they're speculating that I will renew it - thus causing a stock buying frenzy!

Now seriously.... I like your thinking... Maybe an announcement re the Cell? Or maybe they're just gunna tell us how well the Shuffle and Mini have sold.

They need to be careful... there are times and ways to announce company performance dictated by law, SEC Rules and custom. If they do things that improperly influence investors their stock could be delisted and/or the executives could wind up in jail.

Enron, ron a do-ron ron

 

[macidiot]

Warren Buffet refused to split the stock and keep the stock price high specifically to filter out investors that didn't really know what they were doing. The rationale being that if a stock costs tens of thousands of dollars, it will in general be traded only by professional money managers (e.g. mutual/pension fund managers or money managers for rich individuals). Once again proving that all investors are NOT rational, otherwise Buffet wouldn't have had to resort to this.

Buffett refuses to split the stock because he feels it is basically worthless to do so. It has nothing to do with filtering out investors. But, he did create the B shares to deal with speculators(at the time, investors were pooling their money to buy shares...somewhat like mini private mutual funds) and create a more "flexible" stock. B shares are like a tracking stock and are, I think, worth about 1/20 of an A share. However, they are restricted in certain ways. An A share holder can convert at any time to B shares, but B share holders cannot convert to an A share.

btw, BRK is not traded only by professional money managers. Less than 30% is owned by institutions. The stock is very unappealing to institutions because it is fairly illiquid. The majority of investors are individuals. If anything the stock price has done the reverse of what you suggested: it has driven professional money managers away.

As for affordability. Most serious investors can afford this stock if they want it. A basic rule of thumb I tell beginning investors is that if you need about 100k to properly invest in individual stocks. Anything less, you should be in an index fund, imo. Why 100k? Because it allows you to properly diversify your portfolio. You can own 10-20 stocks and actually have decent positions.

But I do agree that the stock market is NOT rational. And thank god it isn't. If it were, in theory all stocks would always be correctly priced at all times. Emotion and information are the 2 factors that keep that from happening.

 

[TorbX]

I think this will have an effect on first time-buyers? I'd like to buy some apple shares (I want a bite, lol).

 

[Richter]

wide -
thanx for the suggestions, checking out Share Builder right now

 

[trose]

wide -
thanx for the suggestions, checking out Share Builder right now

I use Sharebuilder myself. No minimums, and $4 trades if wait for your order to go through on Tuesday (something about them getting discounts for mass orders on one day of the week).
Can't beat that.

 

[Deefuzz]

I use Sharebuilder myself. No minimums, and $4 trades if wait for your order to go through on Tuesday (something about them getting discounts for mass orders on one day of the week).
Can't beat that.

Someone else had recommended Sharebuilder to me as well...So they are pretty reputable? No minimums? So I can just buy 1 share of Apple stock from them to get the proxies and the stock certificate if I wanted to?

 

[oldMac]

Stock splits & smarty-pants

Hmmm, not sure why you guys think this is good news. Stock splits don't mean anything.

There are two kinds of investors:

1) Ignorant "dummies" who believe that stock splits mean something

2) Ignorant "smarty-pants" who believe that the market is rational

 

[krisjon]

Enjoying the ride

Bought 1000 shares around $16.50 18+ months ago. I'm a happy camper.

 

[pimentoLoaf]

I have TDWaterhouse for a broker, but I opened an account years ago. I only use the online services for research and account data though I could easily day-trade with it.

 

[ssnmx]

I have a newbie question...

I'm a student, and I've saved just over 1k in the last few months.
I'm looking forward to invest it somehow... and since I've seen the great performance of AAPL, I've considered buying some shares...

My question is... do you think it would be a good idea? I mean, 1K would be like roughly 25 shares after the split... I'm interested in the money I can get in the short term. The main reason why I want to buy stock is because my money in the bank earns peanuts and I need to pay a loan.

What do you guys think?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[wide]

I have a newbie question...

I'm a student, and I've saved just over 1k in the last few months.
I'm looking forward to invest it somehow... and since I've seen the great performance of AAPL, I've considered buying some shares...

My question is... do you think it would be a good idea? I mean, 1K would be like roughly 25 shares after the split... I'm interested in the money I can get in the short term. The main reason why I want to buy stock is because my money in the bank earns peanuts and I need to pay a loan.

What do you guys think?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Well, if anything, don't keep it in your bank account...

put it in fixed income (around 4 percent per year). That way, at least you beat inflation.

Apple is risky, and no one here knows for sure what will happen to it. No one in the world knows, for that matter.

It's really unfair to ask someone what they think about where you will be putting money if they aren't a professional. If I were you, I would put your money in a safer investment, one that hasn't gone up over 100 percent in under half a year.

 

[T.Rex]

I have a newbie question...

I'm a student, and I've saved just over 1k in the last few months.
I'm looking forward to invest it somehow... and since I've seen the great performance of AAPL, I've considered buying some shares...

My question is... do you think it would be a good idea? I mean, 1K would be like roughly 25 shares after the split... I'm interested in the money I can get in the short term. The main reason why I want to buy stock is because my money in the bank earns peanuts and I need to pay a loan.

What do you guys think?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Like yourself, I'm a student and I've been playing around on the stock market for a year or two through an online broker (TDWaterhouse). I would suggest you stay out of high priced, well known stocks - really, they are much more long term investments than I am interested in. I've had the best luck with resource stocks (gold, oil, copper, etc.), and your best bet is to find a company that is in the exploration or early drilling stage. This is because when you're only playing with a relatively small amount of money, like 1 or $2k, you want a stock that has a low share price (under $1/share) simply because it is much easier for a 50cent stock to double to a dollar, than it is for a $50 stock to double to $100. On the other hand, it is also easier for this 50cent stock to halve to 25cents! But no one said playing stocks was easy!

A good way to start is to go to a place like www.stockhouse.com and just read the message boards (known as the "bullboards") and just read up on what people have to say about different stocks. Find a few that interest you and follow them for a while; reading the press releases, watching the trends, and reading the message board posts. You can learn a lot this way, and there is no risk of losing any cash. Then, once you have followed a stock for a while and have done some reasearch into the company, then buy some shares and let the games begin.

Only a short while ago I knew nothing about the stock market, but now I've made thousands of dollars by doing nothing than a little research and a few mouse clicks. For instance, only last month I bought 3500 shares of a copper company trading at 91 cents; today that stock closed at 1.88. On top of that, I've learned to read the trends in its price fluctuations (selling when it reaches a new high, then waiting for it to drop 10 or 15 cents and buying back in again) - this way I have picked up an additional 500 shares simply by playing the market.

There's no guarantees in the stock market, but it can be a fun an easy way to make some extra cash. Heck, with the money I've made in the past month, I bought myself a 20" cinema display and I'm still up a few grand! It just takes some time and effort to do some reasearch...a little luck doesn't hurt either! Hope this helps.

 

[MacBandit]

how does one go about owning some stock?

You could also use www.etrade.com which has a $1000 startup minimum.

 

[macidiot]

Like yourself, I'm a student and I've been playing around on the stock market for a year or two through an online broker (TDWaterhouse). I would suggest you stay out of high priced, well known stocks - really, they are much more long term investments than I am interested in. I've had the best luck with resource stocks (gold, oil, copper, etc.), and your best bet is to find a company that is in the exploration or early drilling stage. This is because when you're only playing with a relatively small amount of money, like 1 or $2k, you want a stock that has a low share price (under $1/share) simply because it is much easier for a 50cent stock to double to a dollar, than it is for a $50 stock to double to $100. On the other hand, it is also easier for this 50cent stock to halve to 25cents! But no one said playing stocks was easy!

A good way to start is to go to a place like www.stockhouse.com and just read the message boards (known as the "bullboards") and just read up on what people have to say about different stocks. Find a few that interest you and follow them for a while; reading the press releases, watching the trends, and reading the message board posts. You can learn a lot this way, and there is no risk of losing any cash. Then, once you have followed a stock for a while and have done some reasearch into the company, then buy some shares and let the games begin.

Only a short while ago I knew nothing about the stock market, but now I've made thousands of dollars by doing nothing than a little research and a few mouse clicks. For instance, only last month I bought 3500 shares of a copper company trading at 91 cents; today that stock closed at 1.88. On top of that, I've learned to read the trends in its price fluctuations (selling when it reaches a new high, then waiting for it to drop 10 or 15 cents and buying back in again) - this way I have picked up an additional 500 shares simply by playing the market.

There's no guarantees in the stock market, but it can be a fun an easy way to make some extra cash. Heck, with the money I've made in the past month, I bought myself a 20" cinema display and I'm still up a few grand! It just takes some time and effort to do some reasearch...a little luck doesn't hurt either! Hope this helps.

Sorry, but dealing in pink sheet stocks are just about the worst advice to give a novice. You might have gotten lucky, but thats all, you got lucky. You could have just have easily seen your money disappear. Penny stocks are the usual havens of pump and dump operations, have little or no governence or reporting, and very unreliable financial reporting and often false or misleading "press releases." There are a host of other reasons to avoid this type of investing.

What your advising is basically the equivalent of going to Vegas and putting a $1000 on black at the roulette wheel.

 

[sunilraman]

a bit of personal question...

**snip snip**
Mikintosh--I have stock in Apple. I bought it at around $35 per share--undet half a year ago. For that reason, I would be careful putting money into Apple. It is very rare for a company to be trading well in excess of 100% of its value six months before. While I think it was undervalued a year ago, its rapid growth has made it, in my perspective, a very volatile investment. I have not sold yet because I believe it will push further, but it is important that you understand that its growth is abnormal and, by many valuations, unjustifiable.

...in other words, I would not put my life's savings into Apple right now.

Good luck!

-wide

Dude, are you able to divulge whether you have a stop-loss on it? (whether that's specified with your broker or a psychological point to cut it loose if it starts dipping)....

My gut instinct tells me that Apple will do well this year but somehow buying it past $70 (or say $40 post-split) is on the high side of moderate risk

But then something phenomenal happens this year that pushes it to $70 post-split by the end of the year We all know that Apple is in the best position it has ever been in and it has hit upon a genuine formula (hmm that could be an oxymoron) for being *profitable* and still *revolutionary* in the digital age

hah! that's where this being a rumor site not a financial site comes in... although, shares and rumors, there's always been a link there

but don't listen to me, i am $6000 Australian Dollars in credit card debt which my parents are helping me to pay off slowly (i am living with them now)

 

[ASP272]

Awesome! Now even I can afford to invest in Apple! Added to my UPS stock, it should make a sweet (but small) portfolio.

Cool Beans!

 

[T.Rex]

Sorry, but dealing in pink sheet stocks are just about the worst advice to give a novice. You might have gotten lucky, but thats all, you got lucky. You could have just have easily seen your money disappear. Penny stocks are the usual havens of pump and dump operations, have little or no governence or reporting, and very unreliable financial reporting and often false or misleading "press releases." There are a host of other reasons to avoid this type of investing.

What your advising is basically the equivalent of going to Vegas and putting a $1000 on black at the roulette wheel.

I agree that it is more risky, but as they say nothing ventured, noting gained. Sure he could put that $1000 in something like IBM or Apple, but the possible gains are so minimal you're better off just buying a GIC or savings bond! If you're not prepared to take a risk, don't invest at all.

Anyways, I never said anything about investing in penny stocks. I'm sorry, but there is a big difference between some penny stock and an established resource stock (many of which trade under $1), where the company regularly reports drilling results, has hosts of financial backers, and millions in the bank.

This is where real money is made in the stock market - sorry if you don't have the guts for it.

 

[MacBandit]

I agree that it is more risky, but as they say nothing ventured, noting gained. Sure he could put that $1000 in something like IBM or Apple, but the possible gains are so minimal you're better off just buying a GIC or savings bond! If you're not prepared to take a risk, don't invest at all.

Anyways, I never said anything about investing in penny stocks. I'm sorry, but there is a big difference between some penny stock and an established resource stock (many of which trade under $1), where the company regularly reports drilling results, has hosts of financial backers, and millions in the bank.

This is where real money is made in the stock market - sorry if you don't have the guts for it.

Some people are saving for retirement. Saying if your not willing to take a risk don't invest at all is a gross generalization and and udderly rediculous. There is such a thing as a safer longer term payoff. Not everyone needs to get rich quick.

 

[beatle888]

I think it's generally seen as a positive sign about prospects for the company.... but yes, at face value, it doesn't mean much.

arn

to me it means a whole lot a good opportunity to buy my most valued stock at half the price it is today. stock splits are good.

 

[StudioGuy]

Obviously not a shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway!!!

Yeah, yeah - got me there, but they are not the norm of course

 

[macridah]

This just means I have more shares and lesser value, but my total is exactly the same. I would rather see apple at over 100, then split.

But now after the split, new investors will say "Apple for 40, what a deal, I'm buying."