You know what, I’m thinking Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) might be a stock worth investing some money into over the long haul.  Now by no means am I a stock investor, or an analyst.  But I’m just looking at the this from an average Joe position.

Just yesterday, Apple beat out Exxon Mobile to become the world’s most valuable company with Apple earning what is now (as of 1:17pm EST, 8.12.11) a market cap of 350.40 billion dollar – something Apple has never accomplished before.

So you’d think that Apple is growing by leaps and bounds, and you’d be right – it is.  But consider also that Apple hasn’t even broken ground in any major way in China yet with the iPhone and iPad.  And also consider, according to Apple Insider, that Apple’s iPhone has only 4 percent to 5 percent share of all mobile phones, and the Mac owns a similar share of total PC sales.

According to Shaw Wu with Sterne Agee, “We believe AAPL has opportunity to double or potentially even triple its market share in these end markets over the next few years, particularly with Greater China and international as underpenetrated opportunities.”

And just glancing at the media frenzy that’s already building around the upcoming Apple iPhone 5 and iPad 3, or iPad HD – and couple that with these products launching in China and other international companies, you’re talking about something on the scale that the world has never before seen.

So you think AAPL stock and market cap is through the roof now, wait until it doubles or triples in value.  With AAPL market cap right now sitting at 350.40 billion – multiply that by 3 and you have a company with market cap of 1.05 trillion (that’s right – trillion) dollars.

image by AppAdvice

Apple’s market capitalization now totals $337.17 billion.  Exxon Mobile’s market cap sits at $330.77 billion.  Looking at these two numbers tells us that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is now the world’s most valuable company.  This is the first time in history that Apple has achieved this level of value in market capitalization.

Apple achieved this mark briefly on Tuesday around noon, surpassing Exxon Mobile during the middle of the trading day.  However, Apple shares pulled back and their market cap dropped back below Exxon (NYSE:XOM).  But it didn’t take long on Wednesday for the changing tide to take hold once again and put Apple back on top where it stayed throughout the day and into the closing.

Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices have been a catapult to the market valuation of the company.  It was too long ago that Apple was a struggling firm, and investors were contemplating removing Steve Jobs from the top post as they had done before.

However, with iPhone, and then the iPad, Apple has become a study how product development, marketing, and business savvy can elevate a company to success.

And there’s no end in sight for the heights that Apple can climb.  The new, and perhaps the most successful, Apple iPhone 5 is set to be released this fall along with a new iteration of the iPad, perhaps the iPad 3 or iPad HD.  These new device releases will once again show the world who is truly king in the smartphone and tablet space.

Heck, what am I talking about… Apple invented the tablet space!

Apple’s shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) broke $400 this morning for the first time ever, releasing investors into a frenzy on Wall Street.

Apple’s earnings were released today and once again, the Cuppertino company has Wall Street in a frenzy over the likes of the iPhone and iPad domination.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said today, “we’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent.” Continuing with “right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.“

Apple earned $7.31 billion in net profit on revenue of $28.57 billion for the June quarter – both of which are records for Apple.

Trading for Apple shares was halted during the earning call today.  But then, once trading resumed on Wall Street for the almighty AAPL, the stock price surged 8% and blasted into the $400 range for the first time in the history of the company.

Trading for Apple shares has since come back down to earth with the stock trading currently at 388.68, +11.83 (3.14%).

via Google Finance

NASDAQ:AAPL – Apple Closed At All Time High on Friday at 364.92 on news of a whole lineup of new products in the pipeline.

Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed on Friday at all time high at $364.92, which was up $7.15 on the day’s trading.

It’s going to be interesting to see where Apple shares open tomorrow morning, especially with the recent news last week about a possible delay of the iPhone 5 due to the processor overheating.

Apple’s stock has been elevated mostly with rumors of a flurry of new products in the pipeline – a new iPhone 5, iPad HD, new MacBook Airs, Mac Mini’s, Mac Pro’s, and even new OS’s with OS X and iOS.

It’s impressive to say the least.  Now Apple just needs to deliver.

via MacRumors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are on the rise in Wednesday trading due to financial reports showing that Apple retail store growth is outpacing overall Apple growth.  Apple shares (AAPL) are up +1.54 (0.44%) trading at 349.83 per share. Retail sales grew 90 percent to $3.19 billion, compared with overall revenue growth of 86 percent.  Apple currently runs 323 retail stores worldwide. Same-store visitors surpassed the 800 million mark in 2010, and Apple is expecting to serve its one-billionth customer perhaps this year (2011).

The store concept is working well for Apple, obviously.  And as a result of this “brick and mortar” concept, other tech companies seem to be following suit.  For example, Microsoft opened their first retail location just last year.

via Google Finance

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed up today +3.73 (1.12%) at 336.13 on news of Apple’s Mac business and rumors of Apple beefing up team for cloud computing services.

Apple has moved up to the #4 spot in top PC vendors in the U.S. with an 8.5% market share, this according to MacObserver.  Apple is aggressively growing their Mac business and gaining grounds in the PC market.

Also today, Apple watchers have discovered job board posting that indicate Apple is looking to beef up on employees who specialize in cloud computing services.  This indicates that Apple is looking at the future of the products like iTunes as being a could based service.

According to PCWorld, a listing on Apple’s job site sniffed out by Apple watchers Wednesday suggests that the company is eager to add bodies to a “small team” working on the “future of cloud services at Apple.”

With Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) once again establishing itself as the dominant force in the tablet market with explosive sales figures for the iPad – reportedly selling 1 million units this weekend alone in the US – shares of AAPL are up while the entire NASDAQ composite is down currently -21.44 (-0.79%) at 2,694.17. The iPad 2 went on sale on Friday at 5pm at Apple stores, AT&T and Verizon, and various other retailers, and within hours, reports were coming in that the stores were wiped out of their iPad 2 inventory. Some Best Buys reported that the iPad 2 sold out in less than 10 minutes.

via Google Finance

With the iPhone 4 problems (antenna gate and supply side issues) now taking a back seat in the media, and with the iPad expanding on the global stage, it’s no wonder that Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) have reached an all time new high at the close on Friday. Apple’s stock price closed at 314.74 +12.43 (4.11%) at the closing bell.

Some other news that may be pushing the stock price higher is the new Apple TV concept, and the next generation iPad.

What are your thoughts on why Apple stock prices have reached a new, all time high?

via Google Finance

Most Active Stocks in Tech – NASDAQ: (AAPL, MSFT, BIDU, CSCO, HPQ)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – A possibly expensive legal claim for Apple Inc (AAPL) is in the works… As reported by the AP earlier today, “A jury in Texas has ordered Apple to pay $625.5 million for violating patents owned by a firm founded by a computer science professor. Apple Inc. is challenging Friday’s verdict from the federal court in Tyler, Texas, saying the court has not yet looked at some of its counterclaims.” (source: CreditCardOutlaw)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft has been slapped with its second downgrade in two days.  Sasa Zorovic at Janney Capital rates Microsoft neutral, down from a buy, in a new note, says Eric Savitz at Barron’s. He’s lowering his price target to $28 from $30. (source: BusinessInsider)

Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) – Goldman Sachs analyst James Mitchell this morning repeated his Buy rating onBaidu (BIDU), raising his price target for the China Internet search company to $105, from $90. (He needed to do something, with the stock yesterday closing at $96.22, above his old target. (source: Barrons)

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) – Skype today announced that it has named Tony Bates, who has been a senior VP at Cisco (CSCO), as CEO. He succeeds Josh Silverman, who is leaving the company. Silverman was previously an executive at eBay; he also co-foundedeVite. Bates joins the company at the end of October. (source: Barrons)

Hewlett-Packard Company (NASDAQ:HPQ) – Equities research analysts Gleacher & Company gave shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) a “buy” rating with a price target of $53.00 in a research note to investors on Friday after the company announced that Leo Apotheker would become the company’s new CEO, saying that the move was a “wild card” purchase. The analysts set a $53.00 price targe ton the company. (source: AmericanBankingsNews)

Apple shares have been able to rise above the overall tech sector so far in the month of August.

The NASDAQ (NASDAQ:.IXIC) is currently at 2,178.95, -19.28 (-0.88%) for the month.

Apple share (NASDAQ:AAPL) are currently at 249.88, +4.3 (1.75%).

I see one definitive reason as to why Apple is staying way ahead of its competitors, and it all has to do with the iPad.

While all other competitors are preparing to launch their first iPad competitor, Apple is getting ready to launch it’s next iteration of the iPad – the 7 inch iPad.

I would call this the 3rd generation iPad actually.

We first saw the iPad Wi-Fi only version.

Then came the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G version.

And now we are about to have the iPad 7 inch tablet.

Again, it’s a good indication of why Apple is rising above the tech sector as whole.

Thoughts?

via Google Finance

Some people are already saying that iPhone 5 will replace your wallet.

ComputerWorld has some information about a new hire at Apple who’s name is Benjamin Vigier. Vigier is a near field communications (NFC) expert, and has the expertise to figure out how your iPhone can actually replace your wallet, your house keys, your identity, basically everything that is central to your life.

So if this is true, are you ready to put all of your life’s eggs in one basket – that being your iPhone?

Don’t say “no” to quickly though because Apple (Steve Jobs) has a way of influencing the die hard Apple fans into buying pretty much anything they (he) releases!

Thoughts?

P.S.  Oh yeah Computer World, the iPhone 5 can’t be called iWallet because that name is already taken.

via Computer World

Wanna know how to get a coveted white iPhone 4 right now?

You don’t necessarily have to wait to for Apple, and Apple suppliers, to get all of their logistic and production issues squared away before you own the white iPhone 4. You can actually purchase a white iPhone 4 casing, and then with a little bit of handiwork, turn your black iPhone 4 into a sweet, new white one!

There’s 2 steps to this process – 3 if you consider translating a Chinese website into English.

1) visit this Chinese website to order your white iPhone 4 plate and cover

2) visit Engadget to learn how to convert your black iPhone 4 into a white iPhone 4

*** WARNING – once you tear your iPhone apart, your warranty is void. So proceed at your own risk.

OR… you could wait until sometime around the end of the year for Apple to finally release the official white iPhone 4.

via PC World

The iPad Chair is a cool looking theater style chair that will cost you only $2495.

The iPad iCon Bed is highly futuristic looking bed that comes with charging iPad charging ports built right into the head board. The iPad iCon Bed will set you back a cool $20k (yes… $20,000). But hey, it’s worth it for you and your iPad to “recharge” in style!

The iPad Chair is manufactured by Elite Home Theater Seating, and the CEO says that, “We wanted to enhance the iPad experience by increasing the comfort level of the user.  Our testing indicates this increases the level of interaction and escapism with the device.”

The iCon iPad Bed is brought to you by Hollandia International and mattress brand Therapedic. Here’s what they had to say about their bed designed for the iPad: “The iCon Bed’s upholstered headboard is in a class of its own with its sleek, modern look, along with four fully enclosed speakers, 250 watt amplifier and docking stations for two iPads built into the furniture. It is available in more than 200 fashionable colors and fabrics to complement any bedroom decor.”

So what are your thoughts about this furniture designed specifically for the iPad?

sources: CultofMac

The white iPhone 4 has become one of the hottest, most in demand mobile phones in history. It was once believed that August (this month) would be the white iPhone 4 release date. However, white iPhone 4 supply problems prevented that from happening. The latest update from Apple still has the white iPhone 4 coming by the end of the year. So with about 4 months remaining in the year, I guess it’s safe to say that the white iPhone 4 will be here within a few months. Until then, retailers are trying to convince their customers that a black iPhone 4 is a great alternative. What are your thoughts on the white iPhone 4 issue?

One of the hottest features of the new iPhone 4 is FaceTime (video conferencing).

It is being reported that a future iOS release (4.1 beta 3) will allow FaceTime sessions to launch by either phone or email contacts. Simply tap a contact’s phone number or email address to launch a FaceTime video conferencing session.

The implications for FaceTime connecting via an email address (or a non-phone number) is simple – FaceTime may be coming to both the iPod Touch and the iPad.

The iPad device would make a perfect video conferencing tool, and using FaceTime to connect on your iPad would be as simple as tapping a contact’s email address.

This new update is said to be available in a iOS update as early as next month.

via: BGR

In fact, jailbreaking any iDevice (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) has not only gotten a whole lot easier, but it is now legal.

That’s right – according a new bill that passed in Congress, it is now perfectly legal to go ahead and jailbreak your iPhone or iPad device.

Yesterday, the iPad jailbreak release became available.

Today, as you might be expect, the web has been filling up with every type of “iPad jailbreak” article and video that  that you can imagine.

However, I’ve been able to find this one particular video that shows jailbreaking the ipad step by step.

Let me know what you think of the vid:

Want to deposit a check into your bank account without having to visit the bank?

There’s an app for that!

That’s right – you can now simply take a picture of the front and back of your endorsed check and deposit it directly into your account.

Oh yeah, you have to be a Chase customer using the Chase banking iPhone app.

But this is a pretty cool feature that I’m sure a lot of Chase customers are going to utilize and find VERY convenient.

Which means that other banks like Bank of America and Wachovia will probably follow suit shortly with their iPhone apps.

The app is called Quick Deposit and simply requires a picture of the front and back of an endorsed check that you snap with your iPhone built in camera, and then you can submit that image via your iPhone app. The amount is deposited directly into your account.

Chase then encourages you to destroy the physical check as soon as it clears.

You can use Quick Deposit with an iPhone 3G or higher, and the service is free for Chase customers enrolled in online banking.

Customers can make unlimited number of deposits from their iPhone with a daily deposit amount of $1000, not to exceed $3000 monthly per customer account.

“We know that people who use the iPhone want to use them for as many tasks as possible,” said spokesman Tom Kelly. Since the feature became available in mid-July “thousands and thousands” of existing Chase customers have downloaded the app, motivated in large part by the added deposit function, he said.

source: LA Times tech blog

LG has announced that their own branded tablet device is expected by Q4 2010, or by the holiday season. MEE7DPC9GWHT  The Android powered LG tablet is expected to offer superior performance compared to other tablet devices such as the iPad, while still managing to be thinner and lighter than the iPad.

The only problem with LG launching their own branded tablet device is that they already are having problems keeping up with their obligations to Apple’s iPad.

You see, LG is responsible for the production of the screens of the iPad. The man in charge of LG’s display division, Kwon Young-Soo, as saying, “Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand. We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year,” according to Wired.

So with LG having troubles keeping up with their iPad obligations, they may be hard pressed to find the resources to keep their own branded tablet device on the shelves.

The newest jailbreak for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and now the iPad, are available and compatible with iPhone OS 3.1.2, iOS 4.0.1, and pretty much every other Apple mobile OS in existence.

A couple of points about this new jailbreak that makes it more interesting than say past jailbreaks is that:

1) Jailbreaking is now legal

2) The new jailbreak is available 100% via the web

Previous jailbreak releases required you to download an app from your Mac or PC. But this newest jailbreak comes directly from the web!

To start jailbreaking your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, simply point your mobile Safari browser to:

http://jailbreakme.com

After you jailbreak your device, let us know how it goes in the comments below!

Blackberry is ready to jump in on the explosive tablet market. However, RIM (maker of Blackberry) is already under intense pressure from investors because they have yet to show signs of competing in the touchscreen space. Of course, Apple’s iPad has exploded onto the scene forcing nearly all major mobile phone manufacturers to start producing their own tablet device.

So Blackberry is gearing up with what is said to be called the Blackpad.

Blackberry has already acquired the domain Blackpad.com, which is a good indication of what’s to come.

Sources say that Blackberry is expecting the Blackpad to be out by November 2010, and that “the device will have roughly the same dimensions as the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch diagonal screen, said the two people who wouldn’t be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. The device will include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology that will allow people to connect to the Internet through their BlackBerry smartphones, the two people said.”

One feature that may give the Blackpad an advantage over the iPad – at least initially – is a rumored camera on both sides of the device. This indicates that video conferencing will be possible on the Blackpad – something the iPad has yet to deliver.

So can RIM answer the iPad with their own Blackpad device and actually compete?

Or is RIM, along with their coveted Blackberry, on their way out the door?

source: Bloomberg

MEE7DPC9GWHT

Looking at the chart for Apple shares this past reminds me of a roller coaster that I just rode at Hershey Park in PA. Massive ups and downs – sharp declines followed be even sharper inclines. There is no doubt that Apple shares have had a tumultuous week.

Even so, Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed the week out down only 3.74% which is not much off the mark of the entire NASDAQ which closed down 3.11%.

Apple had a lot of criticism flying in its face this week over the iPhone 4 antenna and signal strength issues. It got so bad at one point that the Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, chimed in with his own criticisms of how Apple and Steve Jobs were responding to the issue.

Read Chuck Schumer’s letter to Steve Jobs here.

I expect Apple shares to rebound this coming week due to a favorable press conference that Steve Jobs had today with the press. During the press conference, Mr. Jobs discussed the iPhone 4 antenna issues, admitted there were problems, and offered solutions to iPhone 4 customers. Ultimately, he let customers know that Apple is going to do everything they can to ensure that their customer base is 100% satisfied with the iPhone 4. And this message of clarity, direction, and leadership from Steve Jobs will probably allow Apple shares to shed some of the jitters it experienced this past week.

Here is what some analysts have to say right now about Apple shares:

Analysts try and prepare investors for the fallout from today’s call.

Analysts feedback via Business Insider.

NTP Corporation, which is best known for the patents it holds on wireless email technology, was most recently in the news for receiving a settlement from RIM (maker of Blackberry), in a court case claiming that Blackberry devices violated their patents.

NTP now has their sites set on a multiple other mobile phone manufacturers such as Apple Inc., Google Inc., HTC Corp., LG Electronics Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Motorola Inc.

Again, NTP Corp. is claiming that all of the mobile phone makers are in direct violation of patents that NTP owns regarding wireless email and other wireless technology.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are holding steady as this news is breaking.

Apple shares are currently trading +1.32 (0.51%) at 259.41.

Apparently, NTP gained some confidence from the RIM settlement case and is now turning their sites on all major mobile phone makers claiming patent violations.

June has been quite a month for Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL). From the iPhone 4 pre order frenzy to the official release date of the iPhone 4, and now rumors about the Verizon iPhone coming in January 2011, June has turned out to be a headline month indeed for Apple.

However, despite the major headlines and record breaking iPhone 4 pre orders and sales, Apple’s stock price is down over 2% for the month June.

The stock market has responded favorably to the iPhone 4 release and other moves made by Apple. And now with the news that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon, Apple could quite possible double their iPhone sales.

It is interesting that even though Apple has had a banner month as far as products are concerned, their stock price is still down over 2% for the month of June.

Is it possible that anything iPhone related will impress Wall Street until the iPhone is available on other carriers besides AT&T? Or has Apple stock prices already accounted for the iPhone 4 future sales and the Verizon deal?

NASDAQ:AAPL – Apple Shares up; 600,000 iPhone 4 Pre Orders

Apple shares are up sharply today as a result of better than expected iPhone 4 pre order figures.

Despite that fact that the NASDAQ is down currently .02%, Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL)  having been roaring ahead due to their strong iPhone 4 pre order figures. Apple is reporting that despite the AT&T and Apple online store setbacks, over 600,000 iPhone 4’s were sold. And let me add that 100% of these were the black iPhone 4’s as there were no white iPhone 4’s available.

Apple shares are currently trading at +7.41 (2.85%), at a price of 267.10.

iPhone 4 pre orders were a bit a fiasco for many customers. Both the AT&T and Apple store site were crashing throughout the day due to unplanned spikes in traffic. AT&T data centers were so overwhelmed that reports of iPhone 4 orders were being taken by AT&T reps with pen and paper. And the issue with customers not being able to order the white version of the iPhone 4 made the ordering process stressful for many iPhone 4 customers.

However, despite the major technical and logistical set backs yesterday, Apple was still able to amaze investors with their volume of sales of the new iPhone 4.

The white iPhone 4 is expected to be released by August 2010.

NASDAQ:AAPL – Apple Shares Up Slightly on iPhone 4 Pre Order Day

Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) are up only slightly on the the day that Apple releases the new iPhone 4 for pre orders.

If we were measuring the success of the pre order iPhone 4 launch by web traffic, then I’d say that Apple was successful. The excitement and anticipation building around the iPhone 4 pre order launch was unprecedented, and once the iPhone 4 did launch earlier this morning, both the AT&T and the Apple website’s have been struggling to stay online due to massive traffic spikes.

Now if we were measuring the success of the iPhone 4 launch based on the Apple share prices on the NASDAQ, then we’d be talking about a totally different thing here.

Apple shares are only up slightly at +4.64 (1.82%), trading at 258.92 (at the time of this writing). That is trending below the overall NASDAQ market that is currently up 2.30% at 2,295.55.

The market does not seem overly impressed with the new iPhone 4, at least at this point in the game. The pre order was scheduled today but that was about it. The iPhone 4 release date is scheduled for June 24th – so we’ll see how Apple stocks perform from there.

Apparently Wall Street isn’t terribly impressed with the news about the iPhone 4 that came out today at the WWDC 2010.

Today, Steve Jobs once again took the stage to announce another revolutionary Apple product. Except this time, the product wasn’t all that revolutionary! Sure, it was an iPhone unlike any we’ve seen before, but it was still an iPhone nonetheless, just with cooler features and upgraded hardware and software.

Wall Street didn’t seem too impressed either with the iPhone 4 news because Apple share (NASDAQ:AAPL) have dropped -4.20 (-1.64%) down to 251.75 on the iPhone 4 news.

Some of the new features of the iPhone 4:

Exactly why Apple stock is down I’m not sure. Perhaps someone with more technical knowledge about stock prices and can help us out here. But the iPhone 4 looks to be a pretty sweet upgrade from the current iPhone 3GS.

iPhone 4’s primary feature, as stated by Steve Jobs himself, is the two way video chat. This video chat feature is basically video conferencing right from your iPhone. The efficiency of communication is really quite amazing, and this new feature will add amazing flexibility to the iPhone.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 4 is only being offered through AT&T at the moment.

During Steve Jobs’ keynote speech, someone in the audience yelled out “Verizon” as if to tell Apple that they really need to get away from the whole AT&T exclusivity thing.

NASDAQ

On the day that Apple releases the iPad internationally, Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) start the day out strong on the NASDAQ. As of now (10:30am EST), Apple shares are up +4.51 (1.78%), currently trading at 257.98.

When the NASDAQ opened this morning, Apple shares took an initial jump upward on the news of long lines, and crazed iPad fans waiting all night to get their hands on Apple’s “magical” iPad.

Here’s a graph showing Apple shares jumping up as the NASDAQ opened this morning:

Supplies of iPad could impact share prices

As Apple is already experiencing here in the United States, high demand and inadequate supplies of the iPad are causing potential sales targets to be missed. And by looks of some video and images being captured of iPad fans waiting to get their iPad, it doesn’t look like the international demand for the iPad device is going to be any less than it is here in the US.

Potential 4th generation iPhone announcement coming

Coming up next month, on June 7th at the WWDC2010, it is widely expected that we’ll here Steve Jobs announce the new, 4th generation iPhone during his keynote speak.

With the iPad launching internationally, and the release of the next generation iPhone, Apple shares could climb above 400 points by the end of summer.

What do you think?

Do you think we’ll see Apple shares break 400 by the end of this summer?

As we approach the market’s close for this week, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are down nearly 6% or -14.78 points. Apple stock prices had a good jump early Tuesday morning, but then headed down throughout the rest of the week and Apple shares were not able to recover.

Apple Struggles with iPad Supply

According to Apple Insider, calls to 50 Apple retail stores throughout the US revealed that the iPad 3G remains completely sold out, even though we are now weeks after it’s launch. Apple stock analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said his team contacted representatives at 50 Apple retail stores and found that 74 percent of them were sold out of all models of the iPad, with the Wi-Fi model available in 26 percent of stores, and the 3G version sold out.

The backlash of limited iPad and iPad 3G supply

One of the ways Apple is dealing with the iPad shortage is by offering customers the option to be placed on a “Notify Me” waiting list, and the Apple retail store would then hold that customer’s iPad for 24 hours after it arrived.

One Apple store representative told Munster that customers who enlist in the in-store reservation system typically wait 4 to 7 days to receive an iPad. That’s better than the 7 to 10 day wait found via Apple’s online store.

Regardless of the time a customer has to wait to get their iPad, the problem with Apple’s iPad supply problem might actually start affecting Apple share prices. Limited supply of iPads and iPad 3G’s could affect the sales projections that investors were anticipating, and in turn affect the sales forecast.

Apple representatives admit they were caught off guard by the demand for the iPad devices. And because of the iPad supply problems, Apple had to actually delay the international release of the iPad.

iPad International Release Date 5/28

So we are now about 7 days away from the international release date for the iPad and iPad 3G. And if things go anything close to what we’ve seen here in the US, then Apple’s supply issues – and perhaps at some point Apple’s stock prices – could start having a negative impact on Apple’s ability to expand their product.

But then again, we are talking about Apple here, so all of this “negative” talk could be way off base.

NASDAQ:AAPL – Apple Shares Continue Slide with Tech Stocks

Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) continue to lose steam today as the overall tech sector is down. Apple shares are currently off -1.64%, down about 4.13 points at 248.23 per share. The NASDAQ index is off -0.78% at 2,299.30.

Despite Apple shares being down over 1.6% today, as I wrote yesterday Apple’s stock price is up over 105% for the trailing 12 months.

Apple (AAPL) chart for today so far:

As you can see, Apple shares started off with a jump as the markets opened. But then, almost immediately, Apple shares took a dramatic nose dive and have been struggling to get back those initial gains.

Some of the concerns that are suppressing not only Apple shares but the market as a whole are the European economic struggles. Despite a massive bailout plan by the European government, the European economy shrugged off that bailout and continues in a downward spiral, dragging the US markets with it.

Apple (AAPL) Analysts Still Calling for “Outperform”

• Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes is “excited” about AAPL because of the iPad. Channel checks continue to indicate very strong sales and corporations are piloting the device at a surprising pace. He believes that his estimate of 1.5 million iPad units for the June quarter will likely be conservative by about 1 million units (that’s a lot of upside). Reitzes reiterates his Overweight rating and $315 price-target.
• Toni Sacconaghi at Bernstein Research believes European currency provides a risk to revenue forecasts for hardware companies. In addition, he continues to believe that 2010 will be a strong year (relatively speaking) and that PC related names are inexpensive at current levels. Toni reiterates his Outperform rating on AAPL and price-target of $300.

[resource:  BusinessInsider.com]

Yes, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock prices have been a bit shaky over the past couple of week, and clearly they aren’t doing much better today (see graph):

But what about stepping back a bit and taking a broader look at Apple share prices – like say the last 12 months?

If you look at the growth of Apple stock prices over the past 12 months – since the beginning of May 2009, Apple shares are up over 105%.

That’s right – over 105%

So even though Apple shares have had a bit of a rough ride, so really has the entire market and tech sector. Sometimes not even Apple is exempt from the fluctuations in the stock market.

Apple’s Product Release Magic

If I had to take a guess, actually I think history would prove this, then I would say that Apple’s explosive stock price has everything to do with the fact that Apple knows how to create the perfect product launch.

Apple doesn’t care that the Apple fan boy club is not the majority in the computer tech and gadget world – in fact, Apple might prefer this to be the case.

Because with only a select group of fans, Apple is now able to launch just about any product it desires, and people will buy the product simply because Apple launched it!

But looking over the past year with product announcements like the iPhone 3GS and the infamous iPad, Apple stock prices are very much appreciating the aggressive launching of new products from Apple.

Charts via DailyFinance.com