With Apple’s stock spiraling higher ahead of a historic 7-for-1 stock split, investors are asking when the right time might be to take a nibble.
Anyone who owns the stock as of close of business Monday will be entitled to six new shares at the end of the day on June 6.
The cheaper share price is expected to attract more buying from mom-and-pop investors who tend to favor bite-size stocks — which doesn’t describe Apple’s current level of $633 a share.
Three shares at that price, and you’ve bought yourself a weekend for two in Miami. Six shares at around $90 — after the split — are more palatable for small investors.
But before jumping in ahead of the split, investors should know that Apple’s stock may get cheaper after Monday, thanks to Apple’s so-called Worldwide Developers Conference for app creators.
According to research from Walter Piecyk of BTIG Research, Apple shares tend to rise an average of 4.1 percent leading up to the conference, which kicks off on Monday.
The stock then falls between 1.4 percent on the day of the conference and 1.5 percent the day after, according to Piecyk. One month after the conference, the stock is down an average of 1.4 percent, Piecyk’s research shows.
Apple’s shares have been soaring in recent weeks — thanks in part to excitement over the stock split. The stock is up nearly 13 percent this year, and last week it hit a 52-week high of $644.
Of course, every year is different and Wall Street is hinting that new products could send the stock higher. So investors who want a piece of that action might want to get in sooner rather than later.
Last week, Ben Reitzes of Barclays raised his price target on Apple to $655 a share, from $590 a share. His reasoning: Apple “finally seems poised to announce a few new categories,” including a smartwatch.
Bernstein Research’s Toni Sacconaghi also raised his price target last week, to $700 a share from $615, for similar reasons: new products, including an iWatch.
Indeed, Apple is widely expected to launch two new phones this year, including a 4.7-inch phone and a 5.5-inch “phablet” phone that is expected to be dubbed the iPhone Air.
It’s also expected to launch a smartwatch that will replace the iPod and be sold as a fitness/lifestyle tool, analysts have said.
Apple executive Eddy Cue last week also turned up expectations when he vowed that Apple’s product line this year is part of the “best product pipeline” he has seen in 25 years with the company.
“I believe certain products we’ve got coming out are great,” he told the crowd at a tech conference in California.