What is Apple
Apple is a multinational technology corporation that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Since its inception back in 1976, Apple has grown into one of the world’s most valuable companies by market value and revenue.
Its products and services include iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, Apple Care, iCloud, digital content stores, streaming, and licensing services.
Apple is a publicly traded company, making its stock available to anyone of legal age interested in purchasing shares.
Why are Apple Shares (AAPL)?
Apple shares represent a unit of ownership in Apple Inc. – and they are among the world’s most popular financial instruments. Apple shares will rise and fall in value according to how well the company is performing at a given moment in time. Better-than-expected earnings will make Apple share prices rise, while weaker earnings will make share prices fall. However, there are many reasons why a company's share price can change.
People trade Apple shares because, just like other financial instruments, they can be an opportunity to make money. At a basic level, you can take a position on Apple shares to get exposure to economic growth. If an economy is in good shape, you might find that companies operating in a specific financial branch or industry will grow too.
Company growth is correlated with share price increases, which is what people are hoping for when they buy or invest in Apple shares.
Apple first sold shares to the public on Dec. 12, 1980, at $22 per share. The stock has split four times -- three times at 2-for-1, and one split at 7-for-1. This means you would have received two shares for every one share, or seven shares in that one case. If you had bought just one share of Apple, you would own 56 shares today after the stock splits. Those shares would be worth $14,896 at the current price of $266 per share.
A $100 investment would have purchased 4.54 shares at the IPO price. After the stock splits, you would now be the lucky owner of 254 shares of Apple, which would currently have a value of $67,564. In percentage terms, Apple stock has compounded at 18% per year since its IPO price. That means that if you had invested $10,000 in Apple in 1980, you would have about $6.7 million, according to The Motley Fool,
Apple stock is traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the AAPL ticker.
If all that makes you want in on Apple’s tech growth, here is everything you need to know to buy Apple stock & shares to invest in AAPL.
How to Buy Apple Shares
Learning how to buy shares is not as complicated as it seems, but you will need to do some research — and learn the basics — before making your first investment.
- Learn the difference between investing and trading
- Review Apple’s performance and outlook 2022
- Understand the risks and charges
- access the trading platform and place your orders
- Stay up to date with the latest news and rumours about Apple
1. Learn the difference between investing and trading
People have two options to buy shares of stock online. Firstly, they can buy shares in companies on the exchanges where they are listed. For instance, you can buy Apple stock on the NASDAQ exchange, so you own a share in the company (investor). Alternatively, they can buy Apple shares without owning them, speculating on the price of the underlying asset (trader).
Investing and trading are similar terms that some people will sometimes use interchangeably – but there are significant differences for you to be aware of.
Investing in Apple Stock
Investors buy Apple shares hoping their price will rise and they can sell them later for a profit, adhering to the basic principle of buying low and selling high. Investors will take positions over a longer period, attempting to profit from share price changes as well as dividend payments.
While this means that they might need more initial capital to get started when compared to trading, their losses would be capped at this initial price tag. That said, investors should be aware they might get back less returns than they initially invested.
Investors will buy Apple shares to:
- Make a profit from the Apple share price rising
- Receive an income from dividends if the company pays them
- Benefit from the effects of compounding
This last point requires investors to hold onto their shares for an extended period. That’s why you’ll sometimes hear the phrase ”time in the markets is better than timing the markets” when talking about share investments.
>> Learn how to invest in stocks
Apple (or any single stock, for that matter) can be a very volatile investment. You can lower the risk by diversifying your investment holdings.
An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a financial market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). An index mutual fund provides a broad market exposure, low operating expenses, and low portfolio turnover. These funds follow their benchmark index regardless of the state of the markets.
AAPL currently makes up about 6% of the S&P 500, meaning 6% of each dollar you invest in an S&P 500 index fund goes to Apple. If you want an index with an even larger AAPL representation, you might consider investing in a Nasdaq index fund, where Apple accounts for 10.8% of holdings.
Technology exchange-traded funds (ETFs) provide exposure to the performance of companies within the consumer electronics industry.
Apple makes up 21.7% of XLK (Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund), 19.98% of VGT (Vanguard Information Technology ETF), 19.50% of FTEC (Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF) and 17.26% of IXN (iShares Global Tech ETF).
>> Learn what ETFs are and how do they work
Trading Apple CFDs
On the other hand, traders might seek to capitalize on short-term share price gains. Rather than investing in the shares, traders speculate on the shares’ value. They can speculate on it rising by going long, as well as falling by going short.
Trading Apple stock means that you are speculating on a share’s price movements with derivatives like CFDs. In other words, you are purchasing Apple shares without taking direct ownership.
Leverage is available when you use this product, giving you full market exposure for an initial deposit – known as margin – to open your position.
For example, a trader who wanted to buy 100 Apple shares CFD at $150 per share would only require $3,000 of trading capital, thereby leaving the remaining $12,000 available for additional trades.
But keep in mind that leverage can increase both your profits and your losses as they will be based on the full exposure of the trade, not just the margin requirement needed to open it. This means losses, as well as profits, could far exceed your margin.
With CFDs, you can ‘buy’ (go long) the shares if you think the Apple stock’s price will rise, or you can ‘sell’ (go short) if you think the Apple stock’s price will fall.
>> Learn what is CFD trading and how it works
Going Long Apple CFD
Apple has a sell price of $146.55 and a buy price of $147.00.
Apple’s next earnings announcement is fast approaching, and you expect it to be good news. You think the company’s share price will go up, so you buy 200 Apple shares CFD at $147.00. This is the equivalent of buying 200 Apple shares.
Because in CFD trading you can use leverage, you do not need to put up the full value of Apple shares. Instead, you only need to cover the margin, which is calculated by multiplying your exposure with the margin factor for the market you are trading.
So, if Apple has a margin factor of 20%, your margin would be 20% of the total exposure of your trade (200 share CFDs x $147 = $29.400), which is $5.800.
If your prediction is correct:
When Apple announces its results, it is clear the company had a successful quarter – and as you had predicted, its share price climbs. You decide to close your position when it reaches $200, with a buy price of $200.20 and a sell price of $200.00.
You reverse your trade to close a position, so you sell your 200 CFDs for $200.00.
To calculate your profit, you multiply the difference between the closing price and the opening price of your position by its size: $200.00 – $147.00 = $53, which you multiply by 200 CFDs to get a profit of $10.600.
If your prediction is wrong:
Apple’s results are worse than expected, and its share price immediately falls. You decide to cut your losses and sell your 200 CFDs at $140.00.
Your position has moved $7 against you, meaning you make a loss of $1400.
Going Short Apple CFD
Shorting with derivatives can be an effective way to protect your investments against downward price movements in your non-leveraged investment portfolio. Also, it can be a way to generate profits outright from shares that are falling in value. But when you go short, your potential losses are theoretically uncapped because there is no limit on how high a company’s share price can rise.
Here is an example:
Suppose Apple shares are currently trading at a sell price of $146.00, and you think the price will go down. So, you decide to open a short CFD position on 100 Apple CFDs. A week later, the buy price reaches $140.00, and you close your position. This means you made $600 in profit ([146.00 - 140.00] x 100 = $600), excluding additional costs.
If the price rises, you register a loss. For example, if Apple shares rose to a price of $150, you would make a $400 loss instead, excluding additional costs.
Most short-selling takes place on shares, but you can short-sell many other financial markets assets, including forex, cryptocurrencies, bonds, ETFs, commodities, and indices.
You can practice your trades on a demo account or open a live trading account if you are ready to take on the markets.
When you create a trading account with CAPEX, you will be able to:
- ‘Buy’ (go long) or ‘sell’ (go short) Apple and other 2,000 international shares to speculate on their price rising or falling
- Take a position on our range of ETFs to get exposure to a basket of shares from an entire country, index or sector that could be rising or falling in price.
- Trade a host of global indices – including the S&P 500, the famous technology index NASDAQ 100, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Wall Street) and the DAX (Germany 30) – to go long or short on the performance of an entire economy with a single trade.
- Use QuantX, the smart portfolio builder that helps you cover the popular industries and only invest in the top performing stocks.
2. Review Apple’s Performance and Outlook 2022
Before buying Apple stock—or any stock—it’s wise to do some research into the company’s financials, performance, and outlook. The easiest place to get started is through a company’s annual reports and quarterly reports. Public companies like AAPL are required to publicize detailed information about their financial health in these.
You can find these on Apple’s investor relations site or by searching the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) database.
You may also turn to experts for their input. Brokerage companies frequently release commentary on major stocks and industries, and third-party evaluators like Trading Central provide comprehensive technical and fundamental analysis.
When you combine financial data with expert insight, you will be able to decide how much of your money you want to put into Apple stock.
Apple Shares Forecast - Fundamental
Before you load up the trunk with Apple shares, pop opens the hood and see what you are really getting into. Remember, when you buy Apple stock, you are purchasing a small portion of an actual business:
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide.
Apple's balance sheet, income statement, competition, and management (all explained in our guide on how to research stocks) will help you give the company a good once-over.
You can access research, analyst ratings, and other key information about Apple via your brokerage account or a financial information website. If you like what you see, your next step is to consider whether Apple fits into your current investment portfolio.
- Apple's market capitalization is $2.41 T
- Apple's upward move is 35.8% in 1 year
- Earnings per share (EPS) were up 11.8% per year over the past 5 years and are forecast to grow by 5.73% in 2022 and 6.12% in 2023.
Apple has a very high level of debt so it is very sensitive to interest rates.
- Revenue: US$365.8b (up 33% from FY 2020).
- Net income: US$94.7b (up 65% from FY 2020).
- Profit margin: 26% (up from 21% in FY 2020). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue.
Over the last 3 years on average, earnings per share (EPS) have increased by 22% per year but the company’s share price has increased by 42% per year, which means it is tracking significantly ahead of earnings growth.
The price to earnings ratio (PER) is 26, overvalued with 34,8%. Fair value according to valuation is around 150$.
*Last update: November 2021. Source: Yahoo Finance
Apple Dividends
AAPL's dividend has been stable for the last 10 years. AAPL pays a dividend of $0.87 per share. AAPL's annual dividend yield is 0.58%. Apple's dividend is lower than the US Consumer Electronics industry average of 1.45%, and it is lower than the US market average of 4.22%. The next Apple shares dividend payment date will be announced on Apple’s investor relations site.
*Last update: November 2021. Source: Nasdaq
Apple Shares Forecast - Chart Price
Technical traders analyse price charts to attempt to predict price movement. The two primary variables for technical analysis are the time frames considered and the technical indicators that a trader chooses to utilize.
To trade using Apple price chart, you can use the tools available on a wide variety of trading platforms, such as our web-trading platform and mobile apps, Web Trader and MetaTrader 5.
Our web-trading platform, for example, offers 6 chart types (including the famous Japanese candlestick chart) to help you analyse price performance across different timeframes. It also enables you to deal in an instant – directly from the charts. You will be able to open, close and edit positions in just a couple of clicks.
Trading charts always feature distinct patterns that technical analysts can use to interpret the behaviour of buyers and sellers. These chart patterns can give traders an indication of where the market could go next. As you will notice when you look at a chart, the market will usually move in one overall direction or trend. There are three types of market trends: uptrends, downtrends, and sideways trends.
From a technical perspective, Apple stock is in a strong uptrend to new record highs. The 38.2 Fibonacci extension indicates Apple stock could target the $165-$170 area during 2022.
On the daily chart RSI it is not at overbought levels, showing no signs of divergence or exhaustion yet.
To buy Apple shares or not?
It is recommended to watch for stocks in the major long-term support area. We should buy Apple shares at relatively cheap prices (compared to historical values), not expensive prices. Also, have an exit plan for how you will exit a profitable trade. Define how and why you will exit. Since we used to support to get into the trade, you may consider exiting just below a long-term resistance level.
If buying at support, and planning to exit just below resistance, the upside potential should outweigh the downside risk by at least 2:1 or even 3:1. That means that if you buy Apple shares at $145, you should be reasonably able to get out of the stock at $135 or higher. In an absolute worst case you lose $10 a share, but based on the historical chart it is quite feasible to go up $20/share or more. This is known as the risk/reward ratio, a key indicator when deciding to buy Apple shares or not.
With CAPEX WebTrader, you can perform an in-depth analysis of the charts with 90 indicators (including moving average, MACD, RSI and Bollinger Bands). The platform also supports an interactive trading activity with high-end research tools helping you interpret market data.
3. Understand the risks and charges
Trading can be seen as riskier than investing due to leverage. But investing also carries a risk – and there is no guarantee that your investments would increase in value, so you could receive back less than you initially invested.
Before deciding to trade in shares, you should take steps to manage your risk. We have courses at CAPEX Academy that take you through risk management and how to mitigate your exposure to risk in the financial markets.
>> Learn more at CAPEX Academy
Our costs and charges for trading vary depending on the product that you use to take a position.
Apple CFD Trading Conditions
| SPREAD PER UNIT | 0.16 pips | LEVERAGE | 1:10 |
| OVERNIGHT ROLLOVER - LONG | -0.0076 % | OVERNIGHT ROLLOVER - SHORT | -0.0063 % |
| INITIAL MARGIN | 20.0000 % | MAINTENANCE MARGIN | 10.0000 % |
- Spread represents the difference between ASK price and BID price.
- Future Rollover adjustment consists of the difference in price between expiring contract and new contract as well as the spread of the CFD.
- Swap is the amount credited to or debited from an account where positions are held overnight.
- Inactivity fee represents the monthly amount deducted if no activity is recorded for 12 months in an account.
For further information, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions and Charge and Fees.
4. Access the trading app and place your orders
To buy Apple shares CFD with CAPEX Webtrader is very easy and intuitive. Opening an online trading account is as easy as setting up a bank account. Here are the steps:
Open an account or log in
First, create an account or log in on capex.com. To open an account, click the "Register" button and complete your details.
Once the platform is accessed, the registration process must be completed in order to operate with real money. Click "Complete the Registration and Start Trading".
To log in, from the CAPEX website, click on "Login".
Deposit funds into your account
To trade with a live account, it is necessary to deposit funds. This is done from the platform itself by clicking on the "Add funds" button:
Also, it is possible to trade on a risk-free demo account with a balance of € 50,000, which is ideal for getting to know the platform and testing trading strategies.
CAPEX offers you different payment methods: debit cards, credit cards, bank transfer, Skrill, and more.
It is noteworthy that CAPEX does not charge any fees or commissions for depositing funds.
Look for Apple shares
To view Apple shares (AAPL) real-time price and chart on the trading platform can click on the "Search" icon located in the left panel or by clicking on "Shares" and then select the instrument, in this case, APPLE.
Use the indicators and drawings to analyse the chart
Click the indicators icon and select your favourite ones. There are trend following, oscillators, volatility and support/resistance indicators available. To learn how many indicators to use and how to combine then visit the Technical Indicators section in CAPEX Academy.
Set up the order to buy Apple shares
To buy Apple shares CFD, click on the "Buy" button and a window is displayed to configure the purchase order:
The number of Apple shares to be purchased must be entered and it is allowed to set up a Stop Loss to limit the potential loss, and/or a Take Profit to close a profitable position once the Apple stock reaches a specific price. These orders can be configured based on price, pips, cash value or percentage.
To proceed with the purchase, click on "Place Order".
However, AAPL trading does not end here. You will want to check out the next step to make sure you are investing your money as well as you can.
Why Trade Apple with CAPEX?
- Advanced AI technology at its core: Whether they prefer the web-based and mobile-ready WebTrader or favor the highly popular MetaTrader 5, we make sure investors make effective use of fast and reliable trade execution speeds, complex order and risk management tools, advanced charting options, powerful research tools in collaboration with highly-regarded platforms such as Trading Central or TipRanks.
- Trading on margin: Providing trading on margin (up to 5:1 for individual equities), CAPEX gives you access to the stock market with the help of CFDs.
- Trading the difference: When trading Apple CFD, you do not buy the underlying asset itself, meaning you are not tied to it. You only speculate on the rise or fall of the Apple stock price. Online trading with CFDs is nothing different from traditional trading in terms of strategies. A CFD investor can go short or long, set stop loss, take profit, and apply trading scenarios aligned with their objectives.
- All-round trading analysis: The browser-based platform allows traders to shape their market analysis and forecasts with sleek technical indicators. CAPEX provides live market updates and various chart formats, available on desktop, iOS, and Android.
- Focus on safety: CAPEX puts a special emphasis on safety:
- capex.com is a website operated by KW Investments Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, license number SD020.
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5. Stay up to date with the latest news and rumours about Apple (AAPL)
Get the latest Apple Inc. (AAPL) stock news and headlines to help you in your trading and investing decisions.
History of Apple Inc.
Let’s go back in time to explore some of the most exciting details in Apple's history, from when it was just a small garage business in California to the present days when it is the most successful company in history.
In 1976, three young men decided to start a small business: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. The goal was to sell Wozniak’s hand-built Personal Computer - Apple 1. Apple reportedly started in the garage of Jobs’ childhood house in Los Altos.
The two Steves remain to this day the most famous Apple founders, but if not for Wayne, there might be no iPhone, iPad, or iMac today. The story goes as follow: Jobs convinced Wayne to take 10% of the company stock and act as a mediator should he and Wozniak disagree. But just 12 days later, Wayne decided to sell his 10% share of the new company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. One year later, he accepted a final $1,500 to renounce any potential future claims against Apple.
According to Steve Jobs’ biography, the name “Apple” came to him after returning from an apple farm. Apparently, he thought the name sounded "fun, spirited and not intimidating." Also, it had another advantage, starting with the letter “A”, meaning it would be among the first companies in any listings.
In July 1976, Apple 1 hit the shelves for $666.66. Apple Computer Inc. was officially established on January 3, 1977, with the help of Mike Markkula, a multimillionaire interested in the Apple-1 computer. From 1977 and 1980, the company launched Apple II and Apple III. Despite increasingly tough competition from IBM and Microsoft, Apple revenues were growing exponentially.
On December 12, 1980, Apple went public at $22 per share. Its $4.6 million shares sold out immediately, generating more money than any other IPO (Initial Public Offering) since the Ford Motor Company 24 years back. Steve Jobs was instantly worth $217 million. Apple’s public offering made waves in the press too: “Not since Eve has an Apple posed such temptation,” read an article in The Wall Street Journal.
From 1980 to 1985, Apple got involved in different other projects, including the Apple Lisa and Apple Macintosh, with the latter turning out a major success. The company was fast establishing a market it was to lead for decades, but its original creators would not be a part of it. By 1985, Apple’s CEO was John Scully, former Pepsi president. Due to major divergences with Scully, Wozniak decided to leave the company in early 1985, founding Cloud Nine. Jobs resigned on September 16, 1985, founding NeXT.
Without Jobs and Wozniak, Apple lost its way, failing to integrate design excellence with technological innovation. Sales dropped, and prices had to be inflated to keep the business afloat. On top of these issues, Apple released several unpopular products such as MessagePad (August 1993) or the Pippin games console (December 1994).
In 1997, Apple lost over $1 billion. Steve Jobs returned to Apple as interim CEO, replacing Gil Amelio. He immediately began restructuring the company, shutting down poor-performing product lines, and refreshing the brand of solid offers. The product that reversed Apple’s decline was the iMac, released in August 1998. Thanks to its modern technology and innovative design, the iMac sold almost 800,000 units in the first five months after launch.
In 2003, Apple introduced iTunes Store, quickly becoming the market leader in online music services. By 2010, the iTunes Store was the world's largest music retailer.
During the 2000’s, Apple would achieve widespread recognition with its iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad products, due to innovations in mobile phones, portable music players, and personal computers, respectively.
After Jobs died in October 2011, Tim Cook (then Chief Operations Officer) became CEO and continued expanding on the company’s legacy and profitability. Here are several accomplishments achieved in the past 10 years:
- On August 20, 2012, Apple's surging stock price increased the company's market value to a then-record $624 billion.
- In Q1 2014, Apple reported selling 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads – all-time quarterly sales records.
- On June 6, 2016, Fortune released Fortune 500, ranking Apple third based on revenue.
- In August 2018, Apple became the first public business to hit the $1 trillion mark.
- On July 31, 2020, Apple passed the oil giant Saudi Aramco to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
- In August 2020, Apple became the first US public company to hit the $2 trillion market value.
*Last update: November 2021. Source: wikipedia
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Latest Stock News
- AAPL Apple, Inc. - Yahoo Finance
- AAPL Stock Price | Apple Inc. Stock Quote (U.S.: Nasdaq) | MarketWatch
- Apple News (AAPL) - Investing.com
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