Within an hour of trading opening on Tuesday, Apple Inc.’s stock continued the fall it experienced in pre-market activity, dropping another US$13.98, or 4.01%, to $334.50. Bloomberg quoted Greg Taylor, a money manager at Aurion Capital Management in Toronto, as saying: “If you’re a holder, you’re probably starting to think, ‘Maybe I should take some money off the table.’ Maybe the risk-reward is more slightly skewed to the downside.”
Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is taking over day-to-day operations from CEO Steve Jobs, the same arrangement that transpired when Mr. Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant in 2009. Bloomberg said that an anonymous source of theirs noted Mr. Jobs has been unable to keep on weight after the liver transplant and has been more susceptible to illness because of weak health. That led to an erratic work schedule, according to another source, a manager at a company that does business with Apple.
Bloomberg quoted Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster as saying: “If you bought the stock on a pullback over Steve Jobs’s health in the past, you made money. The history is that when Steve Jobs goes on leave, it’s a great buying opportunity.”