$100: Apple stock’s new magic number 

Apple (AAPL) lovers and investors are eagerly eyeing their iWatches to see if the company’s stock can finally overtake the $100 barrier.

Shares of the gadget maker were initially up Wednesday on news of a partnership with International Business Machines. But in the end, the $100 barrier remains elusive, still. Shares of Apple wound the day down a disappointing 54 cents, or 0.6%, to $94.78. That still leaves the stock tantalizingly close to $100 a share.

The $100 level is also interesting because it’s nearly an all-time high for the stock. The stock’s record high is a split-adjusted $100.70 notched on Sept. 21, 2012, says S&P Capital IQ.

Apple’s stock has been on a solid run this year, gaining 19.3% while the Standard & Poor’s 500 is up 7.2%. Investors are hopeful the company will break its long and growing drought of introducing new products. Tablet sales growth is stalling out as the iPad is now a mature product, Apple is playing catch up in the smartphone area and is rumored to be preparing a device with a larger screen to match its rivals Samsung and Nokia. There’s also talk of a wearable device, presumably a watch of some sort.

The race for $100 might seem a bit been-there-done-that for Apple investors. The stock hit $100 on a non-split-adjusted basis years ago. The stock would actually be trading at a much more impressive sounding $663.46had it not split.

But when Apple pulled off a 7-for-one stock split this year, that started the clock all over again.

 

Source: Usatoday

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