AAPL as Market Hedge?
My Apple Inc. (AAPL) vs SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) relative performance chart indicates strongly that AAPL increasingly is perceived to be a "safer and stronger" holding than the larger benchmark SPY Index ETF.
Another way of expressing the "message" of this picture is that money is coming out of SPY and flowing into AAPL, almost as a safe-haven holding amid larger uncertainties inherent in the SPY.
Who can argue?
With record quarterly sales, and a gargantuan amount of offshore cash ($230 Billion) that could come home under the right tax conditions, AAPL appears to be in fine fundamental condition amid a constant Wall Street analyst Wall or Worry."