Apple’s Performance in the Stock Market

2016 was a disappointing year for Apple stock owners as the iPhone 6s Plus and 6s failed to meet high expectations. However, Apple has in the past been seen to overcome poor performances and so far, it is already buying back stock with iPhone7 and 7 plus, which are doing fairly well in the market. Early February 2017, the iPhone stock hit $133.82. This move pushed AAPL away from its 2015 intraday trading high of $134.54. However, compared to the previous year, it has been seen to give a better record from the closing price of $133.

Although analysts don’t expect it to beat its all-time highs of previous years, Apple is poised to exceed the current consensus significantly and move a notch higher in 2017. In early February, the iPhone maker reported strong earnings soon after the US stocks were closed. By being the largest US company in terms of market cap, Apple tends to have a great weighting in indexes. During this period, healthcare and tech shares rose by 0.7 percent, giving Nasdaq a boost as the real-estate stocks dropped by 1.1 percent.

Apple Inc. posted 0.16 percent improvement, which beat expectations, leading analysts to raise their price targets. The boost was linked to the strong iPhone sales registered around that period. The stock surge then pushed Apple to a $700 billion market cap. The next expected iPhone model has been reported to contain new features such as 3D sensing that could, in return, contribute to better sales.

In 2016, the annual sales of Apple.inc fell drastically for the first time since 2001, and this caused the firm to cut its CEO’s pay by 15 percent. However, the losing streak was seen to end towards the close of the final quarter of the year when the company began to grow again as a result of iPhone’s demand, especially the 7 plus. For the quarter, there were recorded sales of 78.3 million, which then set a new record. It was believed that the struggle that Samsung Note 7 was experienced helped Apple get on its feet again.

If Donald Trump lowers taxes as promised, Apple is sure to get back the $200 billion held in foreign countries back to the US. This money could be used for buybacks and acquisitions. While Apple stocks have shown a significant improvement, investors in the company hope to see more growth, technology and talent, which have not been managed too well in the past.

So far, Apple can be given credit for maintaining a healthy balance sheet, generating massive cash flow and driving its bottom and top line higher annually. Although Tim Cook is a competent CEO in terms of innovation, he cannot be compared to Steve Jobs who was known to drive sales to greater heights. Despite the comparison, Cook took measures in getting a solution when Apple was headed to the bottom by raising the prices of the iPad. This gave a strong margin and improved earning performances. He said that the sales of iPhone 7 in the first quarter did better than expected internally and that the company was unable to meet demand until January. Buyers may also have been motivated by the two-camera system. In the last quarter, the prices of the iPad were seen to rise, and customers began to shy away from making purchases. In order to gain market share, analysts say that Apple has to lower prices.

Apple is a well-run company that has high potential in the stock market, but right now, it is crowded by a weak consumer environment. The problem is that if the prices of its iPad stay up, it may lose market share. On the other hand, if it lowers the prices, weaker earnings and contracting margins may be experienced, the reason you need to keep watch on CMC markets to see how it will perform in the future. It is reasonable to say that 2016 was financially rough for Apple, but 2017 has a lot of promise. Even during that harsh period, the company was reported to make billions in profit from its massive revenues.

In the new fiscal year 2017, the latest financial results and the stock market shares suggest a positive story in the days ahead. The company has said it will show year to year records of growth, saying it expects to gain great revenue in the next quarter.