Apple has been edging toward the TV hardware business. This is good news, since, if there’s a company capable of breaking the stranglehold on programming held by cable operators whose greed knows no bounds, it is Cupertino’s best and brightest. Most of us have been thinking about jettisoning cable anyway, since no one wants to pay $80 or more per month for commercial-ridden programming bundled so that we have to pay for 1000 channels filled with garbage just to get a few watchable channels. What is needed — and what Apple, partnered with a TV manufacturer, can supply — is a new standard that will allow easily customizable programming from online sources with a handheld device, tablet or cell phone.
That said, the stock looks like it could meander or work even its way lower for a while — that is, for a few weeks or longer. Notice that the December high at $575 failed to surpass a key external peak at $594 recorded back in November 2012. Since then, the stock has gone into ‘dueling’ mode, with bears holding a small edge at the moment. That could change quickly with a modest rally exceeding $560. But if bulls can’t pull it off, AAPL would face immediate jeopardy down to the 484.15 target shown. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, since this bellwether stock has been in the vanguard of a bull market now entering its sixth year. But if rallies in the weeks ahead seem to lack their old vigor, at least you’ll know why.