Apple’s Stock Races Ahead as Investors Bet on New iPhones -
By VINDU GOELAPRIL 30, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO — A year ago, many investors had given up on Apple, whose stock price had fallen more than 30 percent from its 2015 peak.
“We’re sorry for that, what happened with the Mac Pro, and we’re going to come out with something great to replace it.”
Investors appear to be relieved that Apple sales have stabilized after last year’s drop, said
Neil Cybart, an independent analyst who writes about Apple at the website Above Avalon.
The company has been having difficulty with the new type of fingerprint reader needed for its most advanced iPhone, which is expected to have a screen
that runs edge to edge, with no physical home button, Mr. Arcuri said.
Even if Apple’s new iPhones fail to deliver a large sales increase, investors are also hoping for changes in tax law that will benefit Apple.
Heavy buying of Apple shares by Mr. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway,
and by Apple itself has also helped support the stock price, accounting for one month’s trading volume in the shares, according to Mr. Cybart’s calculations.
What’s driving the stock, say skeptics and fans alike, is hope — hope
that the new iPhones due in September, on the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone’s introduction, will be dazzling enough to inspire existing iPhone users to upgrade and prompt others to switch from Android phones made by Samsung, Huawei and other manufacturers.
Shares of the tech giant — the most valuable company in the United States by market value — have repeatedly hit new highs this year.
Expectations are high that the new iPhones coming out this year will have enough improvements to prompt a big wave of new purchases.