Is Apple still a growth stock?

“Given the fact one of the first posts I submitted for this blog was titled, ‘Why Apple Is Worth At Least $650,’ I couldn’t help but question a recent article saying Apple won’t hit $700 again. While it’s true my original post was from January of 2012, I figured roughly a year later is as good a time as any to revisit my original conclusion,” Chad Henage writes for The Motley Fool. “In the article called, ’4 Reasons Why Apple Won’t See $700 Again,’ the author makes four points to show why Apple won’t reach its prior levels.”

Slowing Growth In Phones: “Growth in phones is slowing as competition increases.” Since the iPhone lineup makes up 56% of Apple’s total revenue, a slowdown could cause the company’s revenue and earnings growth to change dramatically. However, when it comes to the mobile phone market, Apple is actually gaining market share on a global basis.

Shrinking Margins: The author suggests that Apple’s margins are shrinking because customers are choosing the cheaper iPhone 4 and 4S models over the iPhone 5. In addition, the iPad Mini is cannibalizing sales of the full sized iPad. One of these issues is real, the other is not.

Apple Is A Blue Chip And That’s A Problem How? I won’t address the article’s third issue, which was the loss of Steve Jobs, because it is what it is. No one can argue Steve Jobs was a brilliant mind, but nothing said about this would be productive… The author seems to assume that a fast growing company can’t pay a dividend or buy back shares. The truth is, Apple is being treated much worse than a blue chip stock.

Read more in the full article here.

Analyst: Missed the Apple rally over the past year? Here’s your second chance

“Apple’s bear-territory brushes are clearly immaterial to Topeka Capital analyst Brian White, who reiterated a price target on the stock [$1,111] on Thursday that is more than double current trading levels,” Aabha Rathee reports for Wall Street Cheat Sheet. “White said the current trend simply represented a correction. ‘Similar to other corrections in Apple’s stock, the fears in the back of investors minds come to the forefront and the bear stories gain credence,’ White wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. ‘We have heard it before, we’re hearing it now and we expect to hear it again in the future. However, these concerns have proven dead wrong over the years and based on the product lineup at Apple, we believe they will be dead wrong in the foreseeable future.’”

Rathee reports, “White points out that the drop is similar to three other corrections seen by Apple in the past 13 months – falling 16 percent from September through October last year, 15 percent from October through November 2011, and 19 percent in April to May this year… He also said that tax-related selling was hurting the stock price, with investors preparing for the upcoming fiscal cliff by selling now. Taxes on investment returns and dividends are set to go up at the start of 2013 unless the government works to prevent the automatic switch.”

Rathee reports, “However, heading into the traditionally positive holiday season, Apple was likely to recover fast, White said, adding that this was an opportunity to buy. ‘We believe that those investors that have missed the Apple rally over the past year are presented with a very attractive entry point heading into the strong holiday news season,’ he wrote.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]

The 3rd dangerous sign about Apple’s stock

“Back in March when Apple’s stock was heading for new all-time highs, I did write about a dangerous sign for the stock, namely a wave of robust forecasts that called for the stock to reach $800, $900, or even $1000-some of these calls were made here at Forbes.com,” Panos Mourdoukoutas writes for Forbes.

“In July, after Apple missed on earnings expectations, I did write about another dangerous sign: A wave of justifications of the miss that re-assured investors that Apple’s fundamentals are intact, and that the stock will head north soon-after the iPhone 5 release,” Mourdoukoutas writes. “Now, with the iPhone 5 release around the corner and the stock trading near all-time highs, the buzz is about Apples contribution to the US GDP. Such buzz isn’t healthy for the stock. It focuses on the noise, not the message.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Mourdoukoutas is Greek for “ghoulishly misconstrue.”