With the stock market closed for Good Friday, it seems like a good time to share what analysts are saying about three tech stocks: Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), and Priceline. According to Wall Street, Reuters, and MSNBC, these three companies are on pace to reach $1,000 per share within the next two years.
Of the three, Priceline looks to me most like those dot-com companies that fueled the last tech bubble. At least Apple and Google make or license hardware and provide content and technology. (I have an admitted bias toward hardware, having covered manufacturing for about 20 years. But it is a bias I continue to re-evaluate.)
“[The $1,000 level] really shouldn’t matter, but people still remember the dot-com bubble,” said S&P Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler. “The fact that we are seeing stocks rise to these levels may be a signal of that sentiment again.”
Another footnote to the report is particularly interesting to those of us in the supply chain. One company that has already reached and exceeded the $1,000 barrier is Berkshire Hathaway. It owns the distributor TTI Inc., which closed its acquisition of Sager Electronics this week. TTI also owns Mouser Electronics Inc.
Says MSNBC:
It should be noted that there are a number of other companies with stock prices that have risen above $1,000.
Those companies include class B shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which once traded above $3,000 before the company opted for a 50-for-one stock split. It now trades around $80. Berkshire’s class A common shares, however, are now priced around $121,295 each.
Who do you think will hit the $1,000 mark next? Better yet, if you were going to invest your $1,000 in one stock, which one would it be?
I am curious about how Apples stock is going to handle the lawsuit the DOJ is announcing today at noon about price fixing. I'm sure this is just the begining of things for Apple, wouldn't surprise me if they get hit like Microsoft constantly did.
Out of those 3 stocks I would have the least confidence in Priceline. With as emotionally driven as the stock market is, I can't understand why values that flucuate by the minute matter to such a large amount of the population. Everybody is so focused on these stock values that they overlook things like where the company is headed, the company's past, and how liquid is the company.
@Jacob: it scares me that the market is so prone to mood swings, though. Last I checked the Dow was down 200 points on some minor bad news. Yet Apple did OK even after Steve Jobs died...go figure.
I think it depends on the products you are selling. Innovation is relative to the product line. If a firm launches an innovative feature or hardware it should take appriopriate measures to highlight that innovation to the customers.
As your example suggests, a firm cannot rely only on innovation to maintain sustainability. There are certain other factors that play an important role in maintaing market share.
Stock markets are always in fluxuating mood and hence there may be chances for both profit and loss. Since last year some corrections are happened, it’s difficult to predict about any more changes in near future. But any investment in equity for a long time (minimum 5 years) can help you to get a better yield.
@Wale. It's all relative when it comes to investments. Concepts such as 'early' and 'late' vary from investor to investor. It's a function of how much one is willing to lose in return for a future possibility of making higher gains. You can choose to wait even though you keep on losing a bit everyday but there is always a possibility that the downward trend will be reversed tomorrow.
If you are already in profit, it's easier to wait for longer. However, if the losses start eating away from the initial investment, a quick exit may start to look appealing. It is a tough call though I must admit...
Thanks Seydzunair. Keeping the sustainability heavily hinged on innovations they could conjure up that may draw consumers atttraction as well, investors. Take a look at RIM today, touch screen innovation caught up with its BB big time and now at back foot of consumer markets.
@Wale: I agree with you completely and that is why I said that I was concerned about Apple sustaining its growth in the upcoming years.
I have seen that over the years it becomes difficult for companies to grow as rapidly as they did before. At a later stage, it just becomes a game of sustainability. If a company is able to sustain is profits, keep its shareholders and consumers happy I believe it is doing a great job. And I would love to invest in such an enterprise.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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