aapl catalyst 20% correction 200 mv stock fell 16% from its early April peak through the middle of May before recovering sharply in anticipation of the iPhone 5.

stock fell 16% from its early April peak through the middle of May before recovering sharply in anticipation of the iPhone 5.

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• November 2, 2012, 3:35 PM

Look Out Below: Apple Shares Approach Bear Market

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By Steven Russolillo

European Pressphoto Agency

Customers look over Apple's AAPL -3.31%iPad mini at an Apple store in London on Friday.

Apple Inc. can’t shake its recent doldrums.
Shares are down again and have slipped below a key technical level. They are also nearing bear-market territory, considered a drop of at least 20% from peak to trough.
Today’s decline also coincides with the new iPad Mini going on sale. There was little evidence of the long lines that typically greet a new Apple product. Superstorm Sandy likely played a role in the smaller-than-usual crowds in New York City. Elsewhere, however, demand wasn’t as fervent as it usually is.
From WSJ:

In New Zealand, where sales first got under way, just a few people lined up outside a retail store in Wellington on Friday. Even so, the country was running low on stock…
Even in Apple’s backyard of San Francisco, lines were half to less than a third of the size they have been in the past, suggesting that consumer enthusiasm for the new device may not be as fervent as for the company’s other products. Even the media presence was muted.

The stock recently fell 3% to $578.57, the lowest level since late July, and is down 18% from its all-time closing high of $702.10 hit on Sept. 19.

More In Apple

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• Rochdale to Seek Capital Injection after Bad Trade in Apple
• Tim Cook Shapes a New Era at Apple
• Pandora Shares Can't Shake Apple Threat

Shares are also poised to close below their 200-day moving average for the first time this year. That’s a key technical level chart watchers pay attention to as a line in the sand that defines uptrends and downtrends.
Closing below could portend more trouble for the stock, at least in the near future.
Remember this isn’t the first time this year that Apple shares have stumbled. The stock fell 16% from its early April peak through the middle of May before recovering sharply in anticipation of the iPhone 5.
When looking at a year-to-date chart, the recent decline looks similar to that April/May swoon.

FactSet

Apple shares on a year-to-date basis, along with the 50-day moving average (purple) and 200-day moving average (green)