June 21st, 2000

[10:45 AM] Apple's Stock Split Pushes Price Higher by Wes George If your wondering why the price of Apple's stock is trading so low nowadays, think again. Apple's stock split 2 for 1 for the first time in years this morning to open at $50 5/16. While stock splits don't actually change the value of the stock one owns there is a perception among the public that stock splits herald good things to come. Studies have shown that stock splits have little appreciable impact on the stock's future price trend. Nevertheless, AAPL thinks different. The stock has soared about 10% this week ahead of the stock split and continues to trade higher today. It sure looks as if this stock split is helping AAPL out of its recent doldrums. The stock split might merely be acting as catalyst to wake investors ahead of Macworld in July or to the fact that the stock is oversold and undervalued. Shareholders checking up on their Apple investment due to the stock split might be responding to the positive QuickTime news or be anticipating a strong earnings announcement on July 18th from the company in spite of the slightly slower iMac sales. Also, a street.com article pointed out today that the Janus Strategic Value fund has 3% of their nearly $3 billion in assets invested in Apple's stock. That places Apple in the top ten picks of this hot new mutual fund which has been open only since the end of February but is up 5.9% in spite of the recent tech sell-off. According to First Call of the 18 analysts following AAPL six have a "strong buy" rating and eight have a "buy" rating on the stock. The company has delivered positive earning surprises every quarter since 1998, with the earnings per share trending higher on a yearly basis. Meanwhile, the timing is right, the stock is trading at the low end of its range ahead of the company's most profitable seasons. There are plenty of reasons beside the stock split for AAPL to continue to trend higher. Apple