September 18, 2012

"I like it, but it's just too expensive." I've heard that phrase often this summer, almost exclusively when discussing Apple's stock price. When it comes to investing, many of us get too enamored with the number of shares that we own, instead of the total dollar value of our investment.

Think of it like this. How is a $10,000 investment that gives you 200 shares any different than a $10,000 investment that buys you 20 shares?

In late July Apple encountered a rare miss on earnings due to lagging sales of the iPhone 4s (because everybody and their uncle knew that the iPhone5 was due this fall). Correspondingly, its stock price dropped from a high of $609 on July 24 to a low of $570 the next day.

Now, hindsight is always 20/20, but stay with me for a moment. If you'd invested $10,000 in Apple after the share price dropped, you'd have received approximately 17 shares of the company's stock.

Over the next week, Apple's share price would pass the $600 mark, and on August 17th, Apple reached its all-time high. It would go on to eclipse that new high eight times over the course of the next month, including Monday, September 17th when the share price passed the $700 mark.

Today those 17 shares would be worth around $12,225 - a 23% gain in a little over a month's time (and don't forget Apple also paid its first quarterly dividend on August 9th). Now I will ask the question: was Apple really too expensive?

Chuck Wade

(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp. The author's opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities).