Apple stock got a strong bullish push after the tech giant released its Q2 earnings report on May 2, 2024. The leading smartphone manufacturer also announced a $110 billion stock buyback, which caused a 7% surge in a single day. However, the stock has been trading sideways after a 3.4% correction since then. Let's take a deep dive into the recent price action to take a shot at the future outlook.
The US economy has started to feel the impact of high interest rates. The biggest economy in the world reported lower-than-expected GDP growth of a mere 1.6%, much less than the 2.4% figure obtained after a Reuters poll. This, together with the sticky inflation numbers in the first 3 months, increased the selling pressure in the equity markets.
Consequently, NASDAQ: AAPL plunged to its fresh 52-week low of $164.07 on April 19. The markets remained in the downtrend till the FOMC meeting, which ended without any change in the terminal rates. However, the Fed Chair's less hawkish remarks gave the Apple stock and other equities a sigh of relief.
Berkshire Hathaway is one of the biggest holders of Apple shares. However, shortly after the company's earnings report for the quarter ending in March, Warren Buffet disclosed offloading 13% of Berkshire Hathaway's Apple stock holdings
This was shortly before Apple Inc. announced a record buyback of $110 billion. However, according to Reuters, it won't be easy for the iPhone manufacturer to complete the announced Buyback without issuing more debt amid sluggish growth and declining cash flow.
The red and green lines on the following NASDAQ: AAPL chart are the resistance and support areas, respectively. After the record buyback announcement, the shares hit the $187.4 resistance level, which was a previous support level. This was followed by a retest of the $180 level, which was a previous resistance level but acted as support to confirm the breakout.
It is also evident from the daily chart that the price broke down below the upward trendline in February. This move resulted in a 10% decline in price. Therefore, for Apple stock price prediction to flip bullish once again, a breakout above this trendline is a must. A clear break of $187 resistance might give bulls the much-needed push to aim for a new all-time high beyond $200.
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