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Ed Butowsky is going to owe me a steak dinner.
Butowsky is the managing partner at Chapwood Investments. He's a good guy. And we often cross paths during our appearances on cable finance programs.
During our most recent get-together, we got into a spirited debate about one of my favorite tech stocks: Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).
As you folks know, last year I predicted that Apple would hit $1,000 a share ($142.85 post-split) by Labor Day 2016. And I've doggedly stuck with that projection.
Butowsky likes Apple, too. But he argues that intense competition will keep the share price from hitting my target anytime soon.
So the wealth manager and I decided to settle this good-natured disagreement the only way possible: with a steak dinner bet.
When my deadline rolls around, I'm betting I'll be dining on my favorite meal. (Note to Ed: I like my filet mignon cooked medium rare.)
But you'll be an even bigger winner…
This Hype Is Real
Apple's shares dipped a bit last week because of the Labor Day weekend news about the leaked celebrity photos.
However, if you've seen the product-unveiling event the company is putting together at the Flint Center for Performing Arts in Cupertino, Calif. – where the late Steve Jobs unveiled the original Macintosh in 1984 – you understand why I still believe this stock is good for a 40% pop in the next two years.
All of which means that there's likely just a few more hours until the event, during which time you'll have what I believe will be your last, best chance to grab Apple's shares at a bargain price.
The computer trades, tech websites and Apple-centric publications are rife with speculation about just what the iDevice King intends to unveil at its showcase Silicon Valley event today.
That's to be expected. After all, early fall is when Apple usually debuts its new mobile products.
But this year is shaping up to be far more exciting. To longtime Apple watchers like me – I've been following Apple and the rest of Silicon Valley for more than 30 years – the choice of venue is highly symbolic.
Also telling is that the Flint Center has more than double the capacity of the places where Apple usually reveals its new product.
That choice of venue has the company's intense fan base in hyperdrive wondering what Apple CEO Tim Cook has in store.
The smart money is betting on bigger-screened iPhones and iPads, a new iWallet mobile-payments system, and the introduction of the long-rumored iWatch.
Ordinarily, I'd be dubious of all the hype surrounding the event. But there are plenty of indications that Apple does in fact have big plans for today.
Tim Bajarin is a longtime Silicon Valley analyst with whom I have spoken several times in the past. He believes Apple's choice of the Flint Center means something major is in the works.
"The historical significance suggests that Apple has another blockbuster product ready to be released," Bajarin says.
And consider the eyewitness account of Frank Mangini, a 73-year-old retired electrical engineer who lives in Cupertino. He told the San Jose Mercury News that on his Sunday walks over the past two weeks he's seen rapid progress on a massive construction project at the Flint Center.
"It looked like a sound stage going up for a rock concert," Mangini said, adding that he saw huge pipes with electrical cabling running into the facility. "It looks like Hollywood to me – there's a lot of money going into this."
No doubt, there will be a lot of money coming out of it as well. So, let's start with what we know will almost certainly occur.
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About the Author
Michael A. Robinson is one of the top financial analysts working today. His book "Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings" was a prescient look at the anatomy of the nation's S&L crisis, long before the word "bailout" became part of our daily lexicon. He's a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter, lauded by the Columbia Journalism Review for his aggressive style. His 30-year track record as a leading tech analyst has garnered him rave reviews, too. Today he is the editor of the monthly tech investing newsletter Nova-X Report as well as Radical Technology Profits, where he covers truly radical technologies – ones that have the power to sweep across the globe and change the very fabric of our lives – and profit opportunities they give rise to. He also explores "what's next" in the tech investing world at Strategic Tech Investor.