Investor’s shift from growth stocks to value stocks has pulled almost 20% of Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock price value from the all-time high that it had hit one month ago.
The sell-off is not limited to Apple. Besides Google’s parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG), all other FAANG components are in red.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is down 7% in the last month. In comparison, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has posted an 8% stock price loss as short-term value investors capitalize on 2020 gains and moving those funds towards underperforming value stocks.
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The sell-off is not sustainable
Apple’s stock price sell-off has created an attractive entry point for new investors. This is because the world’s largest technology giant is likely to extend its high revenue growth trends amid revenue diversification strategies and plans for new product launches in 2021.
Indeed, the company has been outperforming the market trends. Its recent 5G supported iPhone launches have helped it generate 14.9% year-over-year growth in smartphone unit sales in the fourth quarter compared to a worldwide smartphone sales decline of 5.4%. For this reason, Apple made it into our best 5G stocks to buy in the 2021 list.
The tech titan’s December quarter revenue hit an all-time high of $111 billion, up 21% from the year-ago period.
Apple’s iPhones, services, and wearables all hit new revenue records. Moreover, the company has also been converting revenues into big profits. Its December quarter earnings per share of $1.68 grew 35% year over year. On top of that, the strong cash generation potential will enhance its investment potential and returns for shareholders.
“These results helped us generate a record operating cash flow of $38.8 billion. We also returned over $30 billion to shareholders during the quarter as we maintain our target of reaching a net cash neutral position over time,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
Piper Sandler’s Harsh Kumar provided a $160 price target, citing the double-digit sales growth for all categories in Q4. Evercore also looks bullish over the future fundamentals and sets outperform ratings with a price target of $163.
