
It was a bloody Monday for shares of Apple on Wall Street.
This morning, AAPL briefly dipped below $500 and is still trading toward market lows for the day, down $16.83 just after noon EST.
Several traders at the Chicago Board of Trade that I spoke with today conferred with industry analyst claims that the rumor mill has contributed significantly to the beat-down endured by AAPL in recent months.
Between rumors of Apple possibly releasing a cheaper entry-level iPhone later this year (a rumor that was subsequently debunked by Mr. Phil Schiller himself) to the latest reports of reduced iPhone 5 component orders in response to waning demand, there remains substantial concern among investors that Apple isn't presently in good shape for the year ahead.
It's been close to a year now since shares of Apple traded below $500. It goes without saying that the loss of a full year of gains is not a positive sign to investors that the immediate future will be any brighter than the recent past.
But the traders I spoke with believe that a fast and significant rebound could result from above-average earnings on January 23rd. Of course, if Apple doesn't beat the street, the free-fall on NASDAQ may continue.
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