Apple's worst analyst (would you sell 10% of Apple Inc for $800?)

[Statistical]

I found this story sad & humorous at the same time. I also can relate to the author because I failed to see the early transition of Apple from the Apple circa 1980 company to Apple circa 2000. Could have made a lot had I seen Apple decades of dismal performance in the companies early history. Anyways a good read. In the interest of not promoting a stock I snipped the parts about Apple earnings and potential share price appreciation.

When I took a young, cocky, long haired, Levis wearing Steve Jobs around to meet Morgan Stanley’s institutional investors to pitch an Apple share offering 28 years ago, I vowed never to buy anything from the man. He was such a great salesman, and possessed such a messianic devotion to his product, the risk of getting legged over had to be great. I have to confess now that my prior prejudices caused me to miss the boat on Apple for the last decade, when the stock soared from $4 to $275, eventually topping Microsoft (MSFT) with a $238 billion market capitalization last week.

...

To prove that I am not the world’s worst Apple analyst, let me tell you about Ron Wayne, who owned 10% of Apple (AAPL) and you sold it for $800 in 1976. What would that stake be worth today? Try $22 billion.

That is the harsh reality that Ron Wayne, 76, faces every morning when he wakes up, one of the three original founders of the consumer electronics giant. Ron first met Steve Jobs when he was a spritely 21 year old marketing guy at Atari, the inventor of the hugely successful “Pong” video arcade game. Ron dumped his shares when he became convinced that Steve Jobs’ reckless spending was going to drive the nascent start up into the ground, and he wanted to protect his assets in a future bankruptcy.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/apple%E2%80%99s-next-stop-1000

Ouch maybe Ron should have retained $1 worth of Apple stock as a lottery ticket. Sold $799 of the shares he believed would be worthless due to bankruptcy and retained a single dollar stake in the company (0.0125% of company circa 1976). That $1 in shares would be worth $27.5 million today.

[meegbear]

1. And YOU knew that Apple was gonna become big?

People sell their share of a company all the time. To imply he's the "worst" because he sold his shares well before they were even a blip on the market is lame.

[Statistical]

2. No I never implied I was best. I even stated I mised a huge portion of the move

because I still saw Apple as the lame company from 1980s when it had made the switch to this lean mean marketing machine.

The point is anytime you buy or sell a stock you are doing so because you believe the opposite is true. Nobody sells a stock if they think it is going to go up. Nobody buys a stock on the belief that it will go down. It isn't the fact that he was wrong rather the magnitude he was wrong.

I have had many losses (BP just last month).
Even more lost potential gains (sold "At Home" and it went on to go up 10,000% over next decade).

Still I have never had a company increase 2,750,000,000% in value after I sold it. There are only a few people on the planet who can lay claim to that dubious distinction. :)

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. This is getting tiresome from Microsoft enthusiasts

I had the money ,
$10,000 of share at a time to buy Apple
at $26 a share, told friends to do but I didn't......
had two kids at the time and bought them a Condo.

$24........ and now its at $248......

Its not always about the money

[Statistical]

4. What is getting tiresome?

Posting a story on how rapidly Apple stock price has appreciated is being a Microsoft enthusiasts?

Would that be the exact opposite?

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. Its just lately the anti apple crowd have

made these flame threads a staple at DU

Sorry, didn't read the rest of your post
because I had read that stock predication before all over the web
and the entailing dialogue that ensued.

The appreciation when my kids sold was 70%

I knew I could have made money on apple.......... Poor me.

[Statistical]

6. I don't own any Apple products (not for me personally) but I do own Apple stock.

I think the later indicates stronger support for the company.
I got to love a company that convinces people they need to buy stuff at a 41.1% profit margin. :)

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. Its not too hard to do a search on DU and your hatred of Apple

So.... yes it is tiresome.

[Statistical]

8. Well you thought this thread (showing the utter staggering return to shareholders) was Apple "hate".

When everyone is an "enemy" your judgment is kinda suspect.

Statistical shows how massively profitable Apple has grown (2.7 billion percentage gain since 1976).
Yup that Statistical is an Apple hater. :rofl:

I mean it isn't even logical.

[Mudoria]

9. Know a somewhat similar story from a friend..

Back in the early 80's he told me a story about what is now Food Lion. Ralph Ketner, the founder of FL, was a friend of his and told him he was planning on expanding his single store and making it a chain and he asked him if he wanted in on the ground floor by buying into it. My friend said I had the money but I also had a wife and 2 kids and i just thought it was screwy idea because he just couldn't imagine Ketner pulling it off. Needless to say it worked out OK for Ketner and my friend passed on the chance to be a millionaire several times over. I'm sure it's an often repeated story. A visionary has an idea but many just don't see the vision and let opportunity pass on by...