Shares of the tech giant fell 0.4 percent on Friday to close at around US$181 after the New York Times reported that the US Department of Justice was closer to filing an antitrust case against the company.
The decline marked Apple’s fifth consecutive negative day, and its longest losing streak since October.
The Cupertino, California-based company has been the world’s most valuable publicly listed company since July 2022, but has seen about US$177 billion wiped off its market value so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While the stock suffered larger percentage declines in the first week of January, the losses are the largest destruction of market value at the start of any year ever.
Apple leads a $383 billion tech run in a reversal from the group’s 2023 rally
Apple leads a $383 billion tech run in a reversal from the group’s 2023 rally
“Investors realize how rare it is for two people to be passive,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management. “I’ve covered this company for a long time and have never seen two downgrades before an earnings report.”
Apple is also likely to come under pressure as investors rotate their portfolios at the start of the year.
“Everyone is selling winners and buying losers,” said Brian Mulberry, client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management. “There is a big rebalancing going on right now.”
The losses pushed Apple’s market value to about $2.8 trillion, approaching Microsoft’s value of $2.7 trillion. Microsoft shares fell less than 0.1 percent on Friday, closing at about US$368.
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