The story has been unfolding with such regularity that it has become predictable. In Russia you have the gangs of ruffians who go around from business to business selling their services to protect the business from other gangs or even perhaps from their own gang. In the U.S. you have the large funds who will shake the widows and orphans and others of little faith in their knowledge about Apple, get them to sell positions in total exasperation, so that the funds can come and swoop the bottom prices with such ridiculous p/e's that would make your blood boil. And yet when they start, they don't let up, they will continue from say 380 up until 640's with no letup so that if you sold, you're going to be gobsmacked and paralyzed into inaction, you're going to be left out.
The problem is made worse by all the noise surrounding the stock, which plays into the hands of these shakedown artists. Previous holders of Apple who were shaken out, now become the worst haters of apple because of the tremendous pain of being suckered out of a good thing, they start writing public service articles about how apple is doomed (supposedly in 10 years) and why you should sell covered calls against it and other insane suggestions. Apple's momentum has been proven over and over, if and until that momentum is broken a covered call will not protect against the fall you could see. On the other hand if momentum continues you will not benefit from any p/e expansion such as we have seen between the move from 13.9 p/e in November 2011 all the way to 18.34 p/e in April!
The other thing about all this noise is just that it's just malicious. Do families wither when the father or grandfather dies? Do upstanding, moral people go around to funeral services wishing the bereaved ill tidings and predictions of doom? Are the well raised, capable children nowhere to be found to continue the work of the fathers?
But, in the meantime, just know that 14.5 p/e start buying and cost average, when it reaches 17.5 p/e start selling incrementally and average out. Just had to say it
Disclosure: I am long AAPL.