Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO and chief investment officer of investment management firm DoubleLine Capital, said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is no longer a growth stock and he considers it as a “dead money stock” during an interview on CNBC today.
Gundlach neutral on Apple
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a dead money stock for quite a while to come, once it settles in around $530,” said Gundlach who is an expert in bond and fixed-income investments. In June, the legendary investor said that the tech giant’s stock will be able to reach around $500 a share “fairly easily,” but it will no longer reach a price of around $700 per share. Back then, Doubline Capital still held shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in one of its portfolios.
During the interview, Gundlach emphasized that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) only reached the $500 level because of Carl Icahn’s disclosure that he acquired a long position on the shares of the company. Gundlach has a neutral view on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and he projected that the stock will stay in the low $500 per share level. According to him, “All the easy money has been made.”
Last May, Gundlach said he was long on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) because the stock was cheap at P/E of 7x. Back then, he acquired his stake in the company for $405 a share, lower than his price target of $425 a share. He said, “I sorta like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).”
Gundlach scared of Tesla stocks
On the other hand, Gundlach expressed that he is “scared to death” to short the shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) because investors are intensely devoted to the stock. He said, “I’m scared to death to short Tesla. It’s a cultish stock and who knows where it goes?”
The shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are trading at $493.33 a share around 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, New York Times on Thursday. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is slightly down at $166 per share.
Mortgage REITs trading on discount
Gundlach also discussed that some of the mortgage REITs are currently trading at discounts to net assets values and offer plenty of yield.
He said, “There is plenty of yield right now in the bond market, but it’s not in Treasuries. I’m talking about closed-end funds, I’m talking about mortgage REITs. These are vehicles that are trading at 10% discounts to their net asset values, or for REITs versus their book value.”
According to him, Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) is an attractive investment at $12 a share. The stock is trading around $11.66 as of this writing.
