Warren Buffett has been one of Apple’s biggest investor cheerleaders. However, the 88-year-old super investor says that he’s not going to be adding to his holdings unless prices go down.
“If it were cheaper, we’d be buying it. We aren’t buying it here,” Buffett told CNBC‘s “Squawk Box.”Apple: I don’t see myself selling – the lower it goes, the better, I like it, obviously.”
Apple is currently trading at $172.97. That’s down from Apple’s high of $232.07 back in early October, following Apple reaching the vaunted $1 trillion valuation. However, it’s considerably up from the low of $142 the stock fell to in January, after Tim Cook announced disappointing iPhone sales.
Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway is the second-largest holder of Apple shares. Its total stake is worth around $52 billion. Recently, it sold off a small amount of its Apple stock, causing a slight dip in Apple’s share prices. Buffett was apparently not the decision maker behind that sale
No rocket, but headed in the right direction
In many ways, Warren Buffett has been the perfect Apple investor. Unlike an activist investor like Carl Icahn, Buffett has not tried to influence Apple’s direction. He has also spoken about taking a long-term interest in Apple, rather than focusing on sales from one quarter to the next. That kind of sentiment is likely music to the ears of Tim Cook.
Buffett’s comments are interesting, though, since it suggests he doesn’t expect Apple stock to shoot up in the immediate future. After all, while stock could certainly be priced lower, if it returns to its mid-$200s price, $172.97 would be a bargain.
As such, it seems that Buffett’s picture of Apple, circa 2019, is as a stable company, but not one that’s going to rocket upward any time soon. Unless we’re very much misreading him.
Source: CNBC
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