Many, many, many, many investors are counting on AAPL to announce their newest "i"phone tomorrow at Macworld. If AAPL doesnt show or even mention something to do with the "i"phone AAPL could see a dip in its share price. I think the "i" phone is the most anticipated product at tomorrows show.
I found that Macworld event is probably one of the high volatility period of AAPL's stock lifecycle. Straddle/Strangle! (though I think the price of both call and put is already high today)
from a product marketing point of view, it does not make financial sense for Apple to introduce a phone. It just costs too much to design, produce, market and support such a product. (A phone is a communication device, it falls under many regulations, and requires lots of tests and approvals before it can be marketed.) Adding a phone feature to an iPod will not bring much additional margin. On the contrary, it WILL erode the healthy margin Apple so accustom to. (I think that's why Apple has purposely been delaying the foray into this market.) But, Apple's hand is being forced... it has no choice. The mass is asking for it, the analysts are expecting it, and the competitions (e.g. Nokia, Sonyericsson, etc.) are encroaching on its turf.
Correct, it's too late to buy volatility. I would be a seller of the Feb 85 straddle at $10.50. I normally quote the vol-line, but I don't have the data in front of me.
Given that everyone in the world expects Apple to introduce the iphone tomorrow, I can't imagine too much of a pop in the underlying tomorrow. Then again, if the iphone is presented at MacWorld, I'll probably be the first in line to buy it.
Apple CEO Jobs expected to unveil mobile phone By Matt Andrejczak, MarketWatch Last Update: 10:40 AM ET Jan 9, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs is widely expected to announce the company's first mobile phones at its annual Macworld show today. "We expect that four phones will be launched," Nomura analyst Richard Windsor said in a research note.