Could boost confidence in Apple stock

The richest man in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, recently bought $100 million in Apple shares, Bloomberg reports. While cautioning that "nothing is eternal," he argues that Apple is a "very promising investment" for the next three years, pointing to the company's plan to return $100 billion to shareholders by 2015. Usmanov's $19.8 billion fortune is based mainly on two websites, Alibaba and Mail.ru, as well as a Facebook investment that yielded over 10 times his initial input.

Apple may need the help of rich investors to restore confidence in its stock. Shares hit $700 before the launch of the iPhone 5, but have since plunged hundreds of dollars, owing to concerns over factors like corporate shakeups, iPhone 5 shipments, and more conservative guidance for its financial results. It remains to be seen if new dividends and share buybacks will attract other major investors.

by MacNN Staff