Apple stock: 'The Steve Jobs premium'
updated 09:25 pm EDT, Mon August 2, 2004
\'The Steve Jobs premium\'
The two percent decline in Apple's stock price today after news of Steve Jobs cancer treatment this weekend--and his absence from the company, may be because of the what CNN/Money calls the : "Steve Jobs has been the hallmark of Apple's turnaround," said Megan Graham-Hackett, an equity analyst with Standard & Poor's. 'It would be a blow to the company if he were not able to be as participatory as he has been in the past.'"
"Apple has been one of the few large tech stocks to flourish in what has been a rough year for the sector. Apple shares are up nearly 50 percent this year, following a 50 percent jump in 2003....but since Jobs' return, Apple has been a tech superstar in a rough period for the overall sector.
The article says that Apple's stock's valuation, which now trades at 36 times earnings estimates for fiscal 2005, could change significantly at the slightest bit of uncertainty about Jobs' status. "When you take a stock that's riding on vapors, a lot of promise and hope that the next big thing will be around the corner, something like this does make you think," said Rod Bare, an equity analyst with Morningstar.
