CEO’s health issues may be a concern to investors.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL, Stock Forum) is starting to look top heavy, something which should be of concern to Nasdaq bulls.
Thanks to the Drudge Report, the world got to see a picture of Apple CEO Steve Jobs looking "gaunt" during a recent presentation. With Mr. Jobs' history of pancreatic cancer, the speculation about Jobs' health began.
And although the company issued a photograph from the same presentation which showed Jobs looking much better, and issued a statement about him having had some sort of "bug" and recovering from it, the damage was done.
So here's the situation. Apple has a lock on the cool gadget market. iPods, iPhones, iTunes, and related paraphernalia are essentially a money printing press for the company. And Jobs is the brain and the brawn behind the company's resurrection and return to the top of its game.
With PC sales starting to improve, and companies like Dell (NASDAQ: DELL, Stock Forum) and HP (NYSE: HPQ, Stock Forum) starting to awaken, though, any kind of significant issue with Jobs essentially puts Apple on the defensive.
Which brings us back to the company's stock chart, which looks to be making a double top. A break below 160 could take the stock to 120 at a pretty good clip, since there isn't a whole lot of support under 160.
From the look of things, Apple has to convince investors that Mr. Jobs' health is A-O.K. Thanks again to Mr. Drudge and company for making life interesting.
Stockhouse Conflict and Disclosure Policy:
Stockhouse publishing Ltd., owners and operators of Stockhouse.com, has established the following rules to ensure that there is no appearance of impropriety on the part of any Stockhouse Editorial writers ("Writers"). The content of Stockhouse Editorial articles (the "Articles") are the opinion of the Writer and any reliance on the content of these articles is at your sole risk. Our Writers are not registered investment advisors. You should not make any kind of investment decision in relation to Articles or stocks discussed in them without obtaining advice from a registered investment advisor.
Facts relied upon by our Writers are generally provided by the subject companies or gathered by our Writers from other public and/or private sources. These facts may be in error and if so, the opinions of our Writers may be materially different.
Writers may own, buy, or sell shares in public companies mentioned in their Articles, but in the Article they must prominently state their ownership position. Thus, a conflict may exist. Writers are not permitted to write Articles that attempt to benefit persons connected to the Writer, such as family or friends, except where disclosure is made in the same way as if the Writer him/herself owns stock.
Writers cannot solicit, accept, or agree to receive anything of value given or paid with the intent of influencing their Articles.
Stockhouse notifies each Writer about these rules, and we rely on the integrity of our Writers to ensure that our rules are followed.
