Analyst reiterates $1,111 price target on Apple shares; says iPad mini is major catalyst

“On Friday, Brian White of Topeka Capital reiterated his buy rating on Apple and has maintained his price target of $1,111,” Richard Saintvilus reports for Forbes.

“In his research note, White pointed to the iPad mini as a major catalyst in international markets such as Hong Kong, where the smaller tablet was launched just a couple of weeks ago,” Saintvilus reports. “White says there has in an ‘insatiable appetite in both Hong Kong and China for the iPad mini, leading to further supply constraints in recent days.’”

Saintvilus reports, “He also noted that there have been shortages at both Apple stores in mainland as well as complete sell-outs at the location in Honk Kong.”

Read more in the full article here.

Apple stock in 2013: Hang on for another wild ride

“Following the dizzying ups and downs of 2012, investors may be hoping for a little less drama from Apple stock in 2013,” David Zeiler writes for Money Morning. “While 2013 figures to be a very different year for Apple Inc. (AAPL), don’t plan on the ride getting much smoother.”

“With 2012 annual revenue at $156.5 billion and annual profit at almost $42 billion, Apple’s biggest challenge heading into 2013 is figuring out how to add meaningful growth,” Zeiler writes. “For example, when Apple reports earnings on Jan. 24, you won’t see a repeat of last year’s incredible December quarter year-over-year revenue growth of 73% and profit growth of 118%.”

Zeiler writes, “Indeed, Apple stock throughout 2013 will face difficult year-over-year comparisons as each quarter goes up against 2012′s record numbers. AAPL is now officially a victim of its own success.”

Read more in the full article (subscription required) here.

A Sad Woman Lost Her Entire Life Savings in the Facebook IPO and Now Wants Her Money Back

A lot of average joes put on their faux-finance cap during the Facebook IPO and hoped it would get them rich. Everyone uses Facebook therefore everyone wants to buy Facebook stock, the logic went. Yeah, it didn't work out that way. I'm sure a lot of people lost money. One poor woman, Uma Swaminathan, lost her entire life savings and kinda wants a re-do.

Uma Swaminathan, who's a retired teacher and a widow, is trying to get restitution on the money she lost during the Facebook IPO. She had ordered her broker, Vanguard, to buy 6,200 shares of Facebook but then she changed her mind when Facebook didn't begin trading as expected. Vanguard supposedly didn't cancel in time and now she's lost a good chunk of change.

Furthermore, Swaminathan has beef with Morgan Stanley too. According to Reuters:

Morgan Stanley, she said, "informed their own privileged clients" that it was downgrading its outlook on the stock, just before the IPO, and then issued more shares while raising the price "just to suck more suckers into the stock," according to her FINRA complaint filed in July.

I'm pretty sure once the money is gone, the money is gone but Swaminathan wants $1.9 million in damages. Good luck? [Reuters via Business Insider]

Apple stock gives another negative signal

“As though Apple stock needs more trouble, Thursday, Apple traced out another dreaded pattern,” Nigam Arora writes for MarketWatch.

“Even though Apple is the leading stock with the heaviest weighting in Nasdaq 100, underperformance of Apple on a 15-minute chart is remarkable,” Arora writes. “According to traditional technical analysis, when a leading stock drastically underperforms its benchmark index, it is a negative signal.”

Arora writes, “Unfortunately, in the world of investments, there is nothing that is black and white. Technical patterns do not always work. On the positive side, Apple stock is oversold and due for a bounce. Further, there is reasonably strong support in the zone of $548 to $567. From a fundamental perspective, the fourth quarter is the strongest quarter for Apple. At this time, Apple stock is like dry tinder; the tiniest spark on the positive side may make the stock explode on the upside.”

Read more in the full article here.