Apple shares went down this morning when AT&T reported only 146,000 iPhone activations within the first few days of its release. This is a particularly interesting bit of news considering all those rumors about AAPL selling more than half a million iPhones during that same time period. Upon hearing this report, concerned investors immediately sold their Apple shares, which caused Apple’s price to drop down 8 points to approximately $135 (as of the latest update). AT&T’s prices have also dipped despite the company’s reports of 61% growth in profits during their second quarter.
Guess this is what happens when a certain product becomes seriously overhyped; analysts can’t help but set unrealistic expectations on how the market will receive it. Then they freak out at the smallest sign that says their conjectures might be wrong. Seems to me that these investors are being a little paranoid. It’s still too early to tell how well the iPhone’s going to do since AT&T wasn’t being very specific when they said “the first few days”. Also, the number of iPhone activations could be a little misleading; apparently, a whole bunch of iPhone owners complained of difficulties in activating their units during the launch period.
