Apple Computer Inc designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers and related personal computing and communication solutions. The return of Steve Jobs, the companies founder, as CEO has pulled the company’s stock price up 775-percent through his launch of innovative products such as the iMac computer line. On January 5, 2000, Jobs announced that he was dropping interim from his CEO title and taking the job full-time. With this news and Apple’s new products such as the iBook, a portable pc and Quick TV, an internet television access feature, Apple Computer is headed for success and is sure to increase their share in the computer market.
The stock price is currently 103.31, down from a recent high of 121.50. The P/E ratio is declining at 28 and beta at .67, which is expected to grow closer to 1.0. A recent earnings surprise last December yielded a 15% difference from the lower expectations and the latest earnings reports late last month also surprised investors. Estimates for the 2000 fiscal year are being raised by a large majority of analyst who believe that earnings per share will increase and the stock price will reach close to 150.
On January 25, 2000, Apple’s portable pc the iBook was ranked number 1 in its fourth quarter market and gives Apple a 10% share of all portable computers in the U.S. retail market and is estimated to have a 7% in foreign markets. I believe an increase in demand for this product over the next few months and Apple’s ability to supply the increase will be gradually pushing the price upward. The introduction of Apple’s new operating system is underway and is sure to boost stock price after the new product is highly marketed.
Apple’s partnership with Earthlink, an internet service company will provide them with an opportunity for advancement into the industry. A new feature for Mac users is Quick TV, which allows users to watch TV on the internet. This new feature has been successful and Apple is including more channels all the time. An increased partnership with Earthlink may provide Apple with a larger share in the profits to be earned from the internet. I believe there may be some huge profits associated with this partnership and any upcoming news or events between these companies will affect the stock price.
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