Apple's Stock Price Experiencing Major Fluctuations Amid COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak

Apple's stock has been on a rollercoaster ride today since opening at $257.26, with shares rising as high as $278.41 within a span of a few hours before quickly plummeting as low as the $260s. At times, the price has swung by as much as $10 in both directions in a matter of minutes in what has been a volatile trading session.

Apple's stock is still down significantly from its all-time high closing price of $327.20 on February 16, just over two weeks ago.

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Apple's performance is in line with a broader selloff of Dow Jones stocks that analysts believe stems from concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The virus has infected at least 80,000 people worldwide, resulting in at least 2,800 deaths, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The coronavirus outbreak prompted many of Apple's suppliers to suspend production at their factories in China last month, while Apple also temporarily closed its retail stores across the country out of an abundance of caution, leading the company to issue a rare revenue warning for the March quarter early last week.

While many of those factories and stores have since reopened, with measures in place such as limited production and reduced hours, there remains a lot of uncertainty over the COVID-19 situation and that appears to be impacting major stocks, ranging from Apple to Coca-Cola to Disney.

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday said he feels that "China is getting the coronavirus under control," adding that the number of reported infections in the region is "coming down day by day by day."

Top Rated Comments

iFan Avatar
53 months ago
Professional traders are having the best week of their lives! (buy and hold for 10+ year investors having some indigestion)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cole Slaw Avatar
53 months ago
Poor Apple, their stock suffering from this Coronavirus outbreak!
Oh, and all the people that died, too.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
53 months ago

This is happening to every stock. Honestly, I'd rather we care more about the people that are sick and dying than the stock market that'll probably be back to normal in a few weeks-months.
It's entirely possible to do both. In fact, I'd wager that most people are doing just that: caring about the human element and the ancillary business ramifications. This topic just happens to be about one of the business ramifications. Discussing it doesn't lessen the importance of the human element.

In a discussion with my mother-in-law, saying how much I love my wife does not mean I don't love my girlfriend, her sister, or their older cousin Margaret. Oh, and my dog Max. I love them all equally (ngl, prolly love Max more - just in a different way). Point is, I can discuss one thing and feel some kinda way about another thing without talking about it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBG4 Dude Avatar
53 months ago

It is important to understand that the most important effects of this virus are actually economic. It is not as deadly as the flu, yet the flu has not affected the market nearly as much

coronavirus is roughly 23 times more deadly than the flu. This year’s flu death rate is tracking at 0.1% while coronavirus is tracking at 2.3%. If this hits as many people as the flu, there could be millions dead.

Also, there are flu shots available to mitigate the effects of the flu. This is not the case with coronavirus.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
53 months ago
People are being so dramatic over this virus.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Duane Martin Avatar
53 months ago

Professional traders are having the best week of their lives! (buy and hold for 10+ year investors having some indigestion)
Interesting. So according to you people who are gambling on the huge stock drops this week are doing well but people who bought an Apple share for $27 in February, 2010, saw a stock split of 7-1 in 2014, and can today sell their shares at more than $250 (total value $1750 minimum) are having indigestion. That is a very interesting perspective. Well, I for one wish I had more indigestion.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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