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Eug · Nov 20, 2006, 02:08 PM

It was a good run. I was starting to get a little antsy, so I sold all my Apple stock at $86.64.

Maybe if AAPL drops again, I'll buy some more.

G4ME · Nov 20, 2006, 02:55 PM

how much you make/loose to your broker?

rickey939 · Nov 20, 2006, 02:57 PM

$$$$.

mindwaves · Nov 20, 2006, 02:58 PM

Nice, I am tempted to do the same. I go through TD Ameritrade so I only pay $9.99 per transaction.

Eug · Nov 20, 2006, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by G4ME

how much you make/loose to your broker?

My online broker isn't especially cheap, but cheap enough for my infrequent trades. CAD$29.99 (US$26). I don't make enough trades to take advantage of the $10 plans here.

P.S. Last time I bought was early this year after a big drop after it had peaked at over $85.

Quite frankly I was a little surprised it came back to $85 so quickly.

Dork. · Nov 20, 2006, 05:05 PM

I don't think it will drop before the end of the year. I might sell some before the next MacWorld, which I think will be underwhelming.

macgeek2005 · Nov 20, 2006, 05:19 PM

How much money did you make selling them?

marden · Nov 20, 2006, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by macgeek2005

How much money did you make selling them?

150 views of this thread but only 6 replies? Everyone wants to know but only a few who are willing to ask the question you did. Hahaha!

macintologist · Nov 20, 2006, 06:05 PM

I have no experience with the stock market whatsoever.

If tomorrow I decided that I wanted to buy $500 worth of Apple stock, how would I go about doing that?

ironknee · Nov 20, 2006, 06:14 PM

send me the money and i'll set you up

Kenneth · Nov 20, 2006, 06:24 PM

Not wait till MacWorld SF? I'm no way into that kind of thing, but may be it's the right time.

Eug Wanker · Nov 20, 2006, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by macgeek2005

How much money did you make selling them?

I won't tell you the exact dollar amount, but it won't make me rich.

I made 45% on my investment, a respectable 4-digit amount, but it's certainly no comparison to the 200%+ some people have made on AAPL.

Originally Posted by Dork.

I don't think it will drop before the end of the year. I might sell some before the next MacWorld, which I think will be underwhelming.

I was thinking the same thing, but I figured what the hell. The fact that Zune is a bust is probably already factored into the price of AAPL, so I figured it was good enough a time to sell. If I had kept it into 2007, I would most definitely have sold before Macworld though barring any unforseen events.

mindwaves · Nov 20, 2006, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by macintologist

I have no experience with the stock market whatsoever.

If tomorrow I decided that I wanted to buy $500 worth of Apple stock, how would I go about doing that?

Open a stock account at TD Ameritrade or some other discount brokerage.
Electronically deposit some money from your checking account to the stock account.
Buy $500 worth of Apple stock which is about 5 shares.

Dork. · 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by macintologist

I have no experience with the stock market whatsoever.

If tomorrow I decided that I wanted to buy $500 worth of Apple stock, how would I go about doing that?

You typically don't buy $500 worth of stock, you buy a certain number of whole shares and pay whatever they're worth. You can buy by dollar amount (including partial shares) at places like Buy and Hold and ShareBuilder, but you won't get the best price there and you'll pay monthly fees for as long as the shares are in your account. Those places are great of you want to, say, put a few hundred dollars a month into the market and invest it right away. Try not to spend more than 3% of any investment in fees (much less if you can help it...)

Places like www.ameritrade.com, and www.etrade.com are more traditional places to start, but you're probably looking at a $2k minimum to open an accont without soul-sucking fees.

Standard disclaimers:

Learn a bit about investing and how companies are valued first. The Motley Fool is a good place to start, IMHO.

If you have consumer debt, pay that off first. It's no use to be making 10% in the Stock Market with money you could have been using to pay off your 18% credit debt.

It's a good idea to be diversified, and not just put all your money in one stock. Index funds are your friend, they track broad indexes and are less prone to erratic movements.... I started investing by putting $100/mo in SPY and $100/mo in one of three different stocks per month, including AAPL....

DeathToWindows · Nov 20, 2006, 07:31 PM

I'd say what I did with AAPL between June 03 and December 04 was pretty damn impressive:

Bought at $17.10... sold at $65

Cold Warrior · Nov 20, 2006, 07:40 PM

I bought at US$20 and still have the shares.

Anyone know if there's US tax liability if I were to sell but dump that money immediately back into a 401k (tax-deferred) or mutual fund?

mindwaves · Nov 20, 2006, 09:01 PM

Chances are you cannot move it back into your 401k plan after you sell it. Since you have held the stock for more than 1 yr, then it is taxed at most 15%.

mindwaves · Nov 21, 2006, 10:28 AM

Up $1.13 in pre-market trading.

Eug · Nov 21, 2006, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by mindwaves

Up $1.13 in pre-market trading.

Yeah, it's over $87 now. Oh well, them's the breaks.

Dork. · Nov 21, 2006, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

Yeah, it's over $87 now. Oh well, them's the breaks.

This can't just be about how crappy the Zune is. Is this all about the silly iPhone? Because I am so going to dump all my shares a few days before MacWorld if that is the case. The iPhone has so much hype behind it that I think that even if it sold for $50 and came with a $100 bill in the box people would be disappointed. (The iTV, or whatever it's goign to be called, will make a bigger long-term splash but nobody will bid the stock up becasuse of it, I think....)

Remember rule #1 in the stock market, buy on rumor, sell on news!

does Apple still report earnings the week of MacWorld?

jokell82 · Nov 21, 2006, 11:19 AM

Oh man, I bought at 60 and I'm getting the trigger finger. I think I'm going to wait until after the holidays before I sell, though. Probably just before MacWorld.

Eug · Nov 21, 2006, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

This can't just be about how crappy the Zune is. Is this all about the silly iPhone? Because I am so going to dump all my shares a few days before MacWorld if that is the case. The iPhone has so much hype behind it that I think that even if it sold for $50 and came with a $100 bill in the box people would be disappointed. (The iTV, or whatever it's goign to be called, will make a bigger long-term splash but nobody will bid the stock up becasuse of it, I think....)

Remember rule #1 in the stock market, buy on rumor, sell on news!

does Apple still report earnings the week of MacWorld?

I thought the iPhone crap was already factored into the price, but I guess I was mistaken.

mindwaves · Nov 21, 2006, 12:42 PM

I sold all of mine also today, but I might buy it back in the near future. I'm pretty happy though because I made about 25% more money (stocks + wage) this year compared to last year.

♥ · Nov 21, 2006, 02:23 PM

And Apple is now at an all-time high today - and expected to go higher.

Dork. · Nov 21, 2006, 02:25 PM

Should I bother setting a stop loss order at 83 or so? Maybe I need to take my charts out for a drive this weekend to find the sweet spot....

itai195 · Nov 21, 2006, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

Anyone know if there's US tax liability if I were to sell but dump that money immediately back into a 401k (tax-deferred) or mutual fund?

You have to pay taxes on the gains if you held the stock in a taxable account. Doesn't matter what you do with the money afterward.

Apple2Mac · Nov 21, 2006, 04:32 PM

I'm goinf to sit tight atleast untill 07 before selling any aapl, this xmass season stands to be one of apples best ever.... It just has a very nice mix of iWant products...

Eug · Nov 21, 2006, 06:22 PM

Argh. Over 88 now.

Andy8 · Nov 21, 2006, 07:21 PM

Could we be headed for another stock split?

bradoesch · Nov 21, 2006, 10:08 PM

I'm still holding as well.

MOTHERWELL · Nov 21, 2006, 10:42 PM

I bought my AAPL at 24.6. I might as well keep holding onto it....

- - e r i k - - · Nov 22, 2006, 01:41 AM

Eug lose! Good day sir!

himself · Nov 22, 2006, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by Andy8

Could we be headed for another stock split?

My guess is that this will happen when (not if) the price reaches just over $90. That's probably when I'll buy in.

zeebe · Nov 22, 2006, 03:33 AM

The last time it split was in Feb. or 05, so almost two years now, and the stock was around $85, so hopefully soon! I bought some when it was $68 and would like to see a split!!!!

itai195 · Nov 22, 2006, 04:43 AM

Why? Splits are meaningless as far as investment performance is concerned.

Eug Wanker · Nov 22, 2006, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by itai195

Why? Splits are meaningless as far as investment performance is concerned.

That's not completely true. Psychologically, splits make some investors happy. There are some people out there that just won't buy stock over $100.

zeebe · Nov 22, 2006, 08:56 AM

Plus, when it splits, the stock has no where to go but up from there, making me more money.

jokell82 · Nov 22, 2006, 08:57 AM

Where do you guys go to get after-hours details? I'm just using the apple stocks widget to keep up with the price...

legacyb4 · Nov 22, 2006, 10:38 AM

Tell that to Google... I'm sitting on half the AAPL position I had (sharewise) back in June. I cashed out and got back in, now wishing I had bought more... having said that, I've taken a portion of the gains I got from the Apple stuff and pumped a bit into Intel at their low a few months back so I can't complain either way.

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

That's not completely true. Psychologically, splits make some investors happy. There are some people out there that just won't buy stock over $100.

itai195 · 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

That's not completely true. Psychologically, splits make some investors happy. There are some people out there that just won't buy stock over $100.

Hm, my guess is those people are small potatoes in the investing world and won't affect the stock's performance much. Any effect those investors have on the stock's price probably would be short-lived. A split is not a reason to buy a stock, nothing has fundamentally changed if you buy one share at $X or 2 shares at $.5X.

Eug · Nov 22, 2006, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

Hm, my guess is those people are small potatoes in the investing world and won't affect the stock's performance much. Any effect those investors have on the stock's price probably would be short-lived. A split is not a reason to buy a stock, nothing has fundamentally changed if you buy one share at $X or 2 shares at $.5X.

I agree with you, but if you're argument were completely true, then we'd have stock splits way less often.

himself · Nov 22, 2006, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by legacyb4

Tell that to Google... I'm sitting on half the AAPL position I had (sharewise) back in June. I cashed out and got back in, now wishing I had bought more... having said that, I've taken a portion of the gains I got from the Apple stuff and pumped a bit into Intel at their low a few months back so I can't complain either way.

Well, AAPL didn't command the kind of reverence that Google does (and still doesn't, to some degree) until recently... Google is considered the frontrunner and innovator in it's particular market while still being relatively new to the game, and Apple had to prove time and time again that it is deserving of more respect than it gets, not to mention having to deal with competitors on both the hardware (Dell, HP, et. al.) and software (MS) sides of the market. To wall street, Google has already staked its claim in the market, while a lot of people are still a little wary of Apple for some reason.

himself · Nov 22, 2006, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

Hm, my guess is those people are small potatoes in the investing world and won't affect the stock's performance much. Any effect those investors have on the stock's price probably would be short-lived. A split is not a reason to buy a stock, nothing has fundamentally changed if you buy one share at $X or 2 shares at $.5X.

Stock splits are a good way of keeping a stock from appearing overvalued. The only folks who would buy into Apple early on were those who were extremely familiar with it and therefore had confidence in it. Wall Street has shied away from Apple for a long time, and a high-priced over-valued stock wouldn't help their image and growth in that regard.

itai195 · Nov 22, 2006, 03:40 PM

I don't think Wall Street is that naive. I agree that unsophisticated investors probably are that naive, but I don't think they have much long term impact on a stock's performance.

Mrjinglesusa · Nov 22, 2006, 03:42 PM

We bought at $32.00 and have twice sold calls that were not excercised. Gotta love that! Have a call in for $88.00 that can be excercised in January. So, I hope it dips back down in the next month and a half. lol

Eug · Nov 22, 2006, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

I don't think Wall Street is that naive. I agree that unsophisticated investors probably are that naive, but I don't think they have much long term impact on a stock's performance.

Long term impact? Maybe yes, maybe no. However, I wasn't buying AAPL for the long term.

As for naivete, what about the entire tech stock bubble? The financials made no sense whatsoever, yet amateurs and Wall Street types alike were saying BUY BUY BUY!

itai195 · 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

As for naivete, what about the entire tech stock bubble? The financials made no sense whatsoever, yet amateurs and Wall Street types alike were saying BUY BUY BUY!

The tech bubble was driven by people making naive short-term investing decisions. The day trading phenomenon came and went with it. And sure, Wall Street is amoral enough that they're not going to turn down an opportunity for massive profit when its staring them in the face. Anyway, that's changing the subject. My point is simply that a stock split is not a good reason to buy a stock.

That said, sure there may be a psychological bump in the short term. Plus some stocks just get into territory where ordinary individuals can't afford to own them and should probably split at that point (e.g. over $500/share). But these are purely artificial phenomena and have nothing to do with the stock's underlying value. Personally I wouldn't invest based on this kind of stuff, but to each his own.

Eug · Nov 24, 2006, 12:13 PM

Now over $91.

Big Mac · Nov 24, 2006, 12:17 PM

Yeah, I didn't want to say anything when I read the title of your thread. It's not that it was a terrible choice to sell at a 52 week high - the problem is that you sold before Christmas. That was your mistake. Apple will see 100 by year's end. Sorry to say it, Eug. On the bright side, Apple will sell off in the new year and you should be able to load up in the Spring.

Busemann · Nov 24, 2006, 01:37 PM

It's never a bad idea to take profit, but selling everything well over a month before MW doesn't make sense imho