Apple stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been soaring. Year-to-date (YTD), the stock is up 35%, from $115.82 on Dec 30, 2016 to $155.47 on May 16, 2017 and 65% up from a year ago. The question may be now: where is the stock headed? Should savvy investors load, hold, or download for profit-taking Apple stock. The answer is not easy. AroniSmartInvest analytics and the market sentiment give hints.
AroniSmartInvest In Action™ team has tried to look at the options, using AroniSmartInvest™ proprietary advanced analytics machine learning algorithms combining stock segmentation and text and sentiment analyis.
Stock segmentation in AroniSmartInvest™ combines both fundamentals and overall performance. Based on the results of segmentation, Apple stock has been, over recent weeks, flagged among the best stocks to watch (see AroniSmartInvest In Action™ here). The Segment in which Apple (AAPL) stock has been classified includes the stocks with high EPS (earnings per share) and P/E (price-per earnings) ratios. Apple has currently P/E of around 18 and EPS between 2 and 3.36 in the last quarters. It has distributed a dividend of $.57, with a projected increase. Operating income has also been rising, with $14.97 B for 13 weeks ending 2017-04-01 vs $13.987B for 13 weeks ending 2016-03-26 or a 7% increase.
Over the last 5 years, Apple stock has increased from $80.96 to 155.47 or 92% increase. NASDAQ Index has increased by 108.64%. Hence, after a few years of slow pace, Apple appears to have been picking up growth momentum against NASDAQ, in general.
Based on the analysis with AroniSmartInvest, it appears that 2018 may see Apple accelarating its momentum:
- First, Apple iPhone 6 users may be coming back in the market to upgrade to iPhone 8, expected at the end of 2017.
- Second, rumors have been surfacing in anticipation of Apple's World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) to be held on June 5-9, 2017. According to rumors and news from several meda, Apple is expected to unveil new faster MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook, and probably 13-inch MacBook Air. The rumors appears also to confirm that during WWDC 2017 Apple will still focus on software, including new versions of macOS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS and a new a Siri home speaker to fend off the competion from Amazon Echo and Google Home.
If rumors are founded, and it will be known by June 9, 2017, the insights being gathered with AroniSmartInvest may be confirmed in the days and month to come.
Disclaimer: AroniSoft LLC or its associates own Apple (AAPL) stock. Please read AroniSoft Terms here.
