Apple Stock

The roller coaster (albeit a tame one) continued last week as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares once again fell several dollars. Stocks opened the week at $112.60 and closed on Friday at $105.99. It doesn't make all that much sense considering many analysts are expecting record numbers when Apple discloses its Q1 FY 2015 earnings next Tuesday.

The drop was due, in part, to Japanese securities firm, Mizuho, downgrading Apple from buy to neutral. The firm's analysts believe the Apple Watch will disappoint and that iPhone sales will drop off faster than they have in previous years.

After spending most of December fluctuating on almost a daily basis, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock saw five consecutive positive days for its first full week of trading in the new year. The share price opened last Monday at $106.25 and closed the week at $112.01. Stocks surged $4.14 on Thursday, almost 4%. It seems the fluctuations are persist however, as the share price is currently down 2.4%. Apple will announce its Q1 fiscal 2015 earnings on Tuesday, January 27th 5 PM ET.

Despite the recent roller coaster, analysts are still bullish about Apple's holiday quarter sales. Investment firm UBS notified its clients last week that it believes Apple may have sold upwards of 69 million iPhones in the December quarter. This would outstrip the Wall Street consensus of 65.5 million sales and would make for a record breaking quarter for Apple.

After regaining some ground during Christmas week, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock slipped again last week. The share price opened Monday at $113.91 and closed the week on Friday at $109.33. Prices fell again today, closing at $106.25. There doesn't seem to be anything in particular to warrant the recent drops. iPhone 6 demand is higher than ever and this should be a record breaking quarter, billionaire investor Carl Icahn still thinks Apple shares are dramatically undervalued and the Apple Watch launch is just around the corner.

Aside from Apple, T-Mobile CEO John Legere has high expectations for the Apple Watch. In fact, in a blog post last week, he wrote that the "Apple Watch will mark the tipping point when wearables go from niche to mainstream," and that the wearable market would go from $1 billion to $20 billion in the next few years. He also believes phablet sales will be up 50% in 2015.

After closing at its lowest point in months in the previous week ($106.75 on 12/16), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) share prices rallied a bit last week to close at $113.99 on the day after Christmas. The cause of the recent drop off is anyone's guess, but there are plenty of reasons to support its rally, including the continuing high demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The current demand for Apple's flagship phones is actually stronger than ever, despite it being on the market for over three months. According to a recent survey by investment firm Piper Jaffray, 40% of 1,004 consumers said they were interested in purchasing the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. This compares to 33% in a similar survey conducted just before the iPhone 6 launch and 37% in a post-launch survey.

Apple shares (NASDAQ: AAPL) continued to slip last week, closing at $109.73, almost ten dollars below the all time high close of $119 on the day before Thanksgiving. In fact, the share price has dropped about 8% since then. There is no clear reason as to why this is happening, as profits have certainly not slowed, holiday sales are in full swing, and the Apple Watch is just around the corner. Perhaps some investors just want to cash in on some of the big earnings Apple has seen in 2014. Analysts aren't panicking and neither should you.

One of Apple's new products that could be a boon for business is its joint venture with IBM, MobileFirst for iOS. The two companies announced the first generation of MobileFirst apps last Wednesday. The project aims to attract enterprise clients with industry specific applications specifically made for iOS devices. As part of the agreement, IBM will sell both iPhones and iPads to clients.