Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares plunged today after closing around $585 on Monday. In Tuesday afternoon trading, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were going for around $577 each, a small recovery from $573 per share late Tuesday morning. Today is the second time in less than 30 days that shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have dropped below the $580 mark.
What’s especially interesting, as Forbes’ Panos Mourdoukoutas points out, is the fact that there’s no major corporate news that this drop could be attributed to. Mourdoukoutas believes that Apple’s stock is simply going through a correction phase, possibly because of investor disappointment because the company has not yet announced a special dividend like other companies have. He also said it could be attributed to low capital gains tax rates that are currently still in effect, although he admits that factor is difficult to measure.
The only news we’ve seen from Apple in the last day or two is the updated plans for its iPhone rollout, which would make it the fastest iPhone rollout yet. This month, the latest iPhone model will launch in more than 50 additional countries. The company is aiming to release the handset in 100 different countries by the end of the year. At this point, the rollout of the iPhone 5 is behind that of the 4S, but this updated launch schedule for December should help Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) make up for and then speed past the rollout of last year’s model. Among the countries where the iPhone 5 will launch this month is China, where it will be released Dec. 14.
The view of Trefis analysts could also be affecting shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) today. They expect this rapid rollout to impact profit margins a bit, because of the high cost of components for the handsets and also the fact that Apple has several new products coming out just in time for the holidays. However, they do expect that the margins will rebound as the cost of components drops, although they also expects margins could decline steadily as the market continues to mature. Trefis is holding its $710 price estimate for shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). That’s about 20 percent ahead of today’s market price for the stock.
