Moore Capital increases its stake in Apple
Must-know: Assessing Moore Capital's 2Q14 positions (Part 4 of 7)
Moore Capital and Apple
Moore Capital started a new position in the Procter & Gamble Company (PG). The quarter also saw Moore raise its positions in Baidu Inc. (BIDU) and Apple Inc. (AAPL). Moore Capital lowered its stakes in JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM), Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (HTZ), and Citigroup Inc (C).
Moore’s largest position increase in 2Q14 was in Apple Inc. (AAPL). The stock currently accounts for 2.54% of the fund’s total portfolio. This is up from 0.13% in the 1Q14 portfolio.
Apple overview
Apple is based in Cupertino, California. It designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players. It also sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.
Apple’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, iCloud, and the iOS and OS X operating systems. Apple also has a consumer and professional software applications portfolio. It has a variety of accessory, service, and support offerings. Plus, the company sells and delivers digital content and applications through the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, and Mac App Store.
Carl Icahn believes that Apple’s stock should trade at around $203
In a recent statement, activist investor Carl Icahn said that Apple’s stock is dramatically undervalued and is actually trading at half of its intrinsic value. He believes that Apple’s (AAPL) stock should be trading at around $203, much higher than the current stock price of $98.
Icahn said his rationale is that the iPhone will continue to hold a significant market share in the premium smartphone segment and it will continue to retain its loyal customers. He’s also bullish about Apple’s new services such as Apple Pay and Apple Watch. For more on Icahn’s views, read Why Carl Icahn thinks Apple stock is dramatically undervalued.
Apple unveils new products
Apple unveiled new products at its September event, including two new handsets and the Apple Watch. The new iPhone 6′s screen measures 4.7 inches. The iPhone 6 Plus’s screen measures 5.5 inches. The watch will start selling at $349 and will be available in early 2015.
The company also plans to launch a new payments solution, Apple Pay. It’s expected to be an alternative for physical wallets, credit cards, and other mobile payment services. Apple said that Apple Pay supports credit and debit cards from the three major payment networks: American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.
Reports of security concerns over iCloud accounts, as well as the recent bendgate controversy, have both impacted Apple’s stock this month.
Analysts are bullish on Apple
Despite these issues, analysts are bullish on Apple’s stock. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty believes Apple’s stock price is set to surge on the back of strong demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
The next part of this series will review Moore’s position decrease in JPMorgan Chase.
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