Apple Continues to Excite Its Fans; AAPL not in a Stock Bubble Yet

The article from Canada, Hundreds camp out as Apple store opens, shows that the magic remains, at least in an area near Ontario:

Apple diehards waited in line through the night to get their hands on the latest high-tech gizmos as the company opened its first York Region store at Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket today.

By 8 a.m., hundreds had staked out a spot in a pair of lines that stretched in either direction from the Apple store’s glass-plated entrance. At the head of the throngs, hoping to score the coveted, yet highly elusive iPhone 4, was Richmond Hill’s Michael She. He and a contingent of friends and family had arrived at 9 p.m. last night to ensure they got one of the sought-after devices.
“I really want the iPhone 4,” Mr. She said. “You can’t find it anywhere else right now.”

One's reaction to this news, the entire article, and the general enthusiasm of Apple fans, may well be that this is cultish/bubble-type behavior. Or the reaction could be my considered one that given the inroads that the iPad, Mac line and even iPhone are making within businesses, what Apple has been doing is a legitimate series of innovations in a tech sector and economy that is short of new New things.

AAPL sells at a price-earnings ratio far less than its current and prospective 3-5 year growth rate. Given its clean financials, this makes it a classic "GARP" (growth-at-a-reasonable-price) stock. It is also hot in many overseas venues, as well. So AAPL fits my theme of investing in stocks with large international components. That Apple, the company, has a buzz among the public is better than if there were none, in this blogger's opinion. Perhaps an investing public burned by too much hype is correctly cautious with growth stocks.

In any case, the iPad may be the single hottest item for high-end gifts this fall; and iPods will be in favor for less costly gifts. Not to mention the iPhone and potential upside surprises with that line. AAPL continues to be a core holding in the DoctoRx portfolio.

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