Apple (AAPL): Profit-Taking

After talking about why I wasn’t taking profits in Apple (AAPL) two weeks ago when it was trading at $150.17, Apple continued its spectacular rally off its June $129.04 low into earnings on Thursday where my next profit-taking target was hit Thursday afternoon at $157.33, +4.77% higher than where it was on July 15 and to a point where the position size had far exceeded the maximum target for the portfolio.

Thursday’s sale sold some of the shares I bought for $142.27 on May 12, locking in a somewhat meager +10.59% gain in slightly more than two months, however, the sale importantly reduced my allocation size of AAPL, though it still remains the largest position in the portfolio and much larger than the portfolio’s maximum 7.14% target size even after Thursday’s sale.

The sale lowered my per-share “cost” -$5.70 from -$35.15 to -$40.85 per share (a negative per-share cost indicates all capital has been removed in addition to $40.85 per share added to the portfolio’s bottom line in addition to each share’s current value).

From here, my next sell target is $177.20, slightly below AAPL’s 2022 high, and my next buy target is $126.15, slightly below AAPL’s 2022 low of $129.04 in case the stock sells off in the next down-round many analysts expect to hit the markets in September.

After the market closed on Thursday, Apple reported a blowout earnings quarter, surprising all analysts who were expecting negative news from the company. Once again, Apple proves why it remains the #1 position in my portfolio – it’s simply that good.

AAPL closed the week at $162.47, up +3.27% from where I took profits on Thursday.