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Stocks overall continued their slide Tuesday, following news that home resales fell 27.2 percent in July to their lowest level in 15 years. The Dow on Tuesday closed down almost 134 points, or 1.32 percent, while the Nasdaq fell nearly 36 points, or about 1.66 percent.
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) followed the general trend, with its share prices sliding US$5.87 to close at $239.93 in active trading. Although the company's share prices dipped briefly below the $240 level in May, the last time they held at or below that point was back in April, around the time they hit their then-record high of $240.46 on April 7.
This is what you'll see in a down market that keeps getting hit by bad economic news. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) shares dropped $12.68, or 2.73 percent, to $451.39 on Tuesday, for example.
Perhaps Apple investors are also nervous because of the impending challenges to the iPad from Android tablets being worked on by various manufacturers. There's also possible backlash to news that Apple has apparently filed for a patent on technology that will compare an iDevice user's heartbeat, voice and mug shot and compare them to data on authorized users it will store in a database.
Still, some analysts remain optimistic about Cupertino.
"No slowing down for the best technology company on the planet," Gleacher's Brian Marshall wrote in a note to investors that reiterated his "buy" rating and pegged a price target for Apple shares of $345.
Marshall's optimism may be borne out by a few bits of good news that surfaced Tuesday. One was that corporations are apparently embracing the iPad readily; another was that Apple has reportedly filed for a patent for touchscreen technology for the iMac.
Fear Is the Mind-Killer
Tablets from two major players that will challenge the iPad are going to hit the market soon.
Samsung on Tuesday put photos of its new 7-inch tablet, which will be released in September, on its website. HTC may release its own Android tablet on Verizon Nov. 26, which is Black Friday -- the best retail sales day of the year. This device will run the Google Chrome operating system.
Meanwhile, Apple, which recently survived a backlash over reception problems on the iPhone 4, seems to be setting up to stub its public relations toe again. This time, the problem is a patent the company filed for recently for what it describes as measures to improve iDevice users' security.
The technology will let the iOS operating system, which runs on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, compare the heartbeat, voiceprint and photo of anyone using one of these devices against similar data about the authorized user that has been stored.
That raises concerns over privacy, which might hamper iDevice sales in Europe when the devices are equipped with this technology, warned Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation. Further, Apple may face lawsuits over the data captured by the technology.
"It's outrageous that Apple would seek to use its devices to spy on its customers," Tien told MacNewsWorld. "Once Apple has that information, it might be disclosed to commercial partners, government entities, or even just people who demand it in connection with a lawsuit."
Lawsuits and a possible probe by the EU might slow iDevice sales in Europe as well as in the United States, so Apple investors should keep an eye out for news about these issues.
Happiness Is a Warm iPad
Will the advent of Android tablets be cause for concern, especially as Android devices are gaining ground on Apple in the mobile market?
"Android mania will cease when the iPhone comes to Verizon in early 2011," Gleacher's Marshall told MacNewsWorld.
Sales of the iPad will continue to grow, and Apple's profits will grow with them because of efficiencies of scale, Marshall predicted.
"Sales of the iPad can ramp up nearly 500 basis points, or about 40 percent, in the next quarter or two due to scale efficiencies," Marshall said.
Those sales may be partly driven by enterprise users. Businesses are embracing the use of iPads by their staff, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Reach Out and Touch an iMac
Apple has recently also filed for a patent for iMac touchscreens, according to the Patently Apple blog.
That might further boost Mac sales, which are strong -- the June quarter saw the largest quarterly Mac sales in history.
Mac sales will remain strong in the September quarter as Apple gains market share from PCs, Gleacher's Marshall said.
"Apple's stocks should react nicely to earnings when they're reported in late October, and my guess is they'll hit $300 by year end," Marshall said. He expects Apple shares to hit $345 in 12 months.
