As the Apple Turns

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In light of the Steve Jobs retirement, Apple now loses arguably the most dynamic, effective CEO who ever lived. Looking at the above monthly chart of the stock, you can see just how steep the rising channel has been since 2009. Technically, Apple is as bullish as ever, holding up relatively well during the recent market swoon. That said, when you see a stock in such a steep channel for an extended period of time, the chances increase that we can see a violent breakdown at any point. Thus, have an exit strategy from swing positions via sensible protective stop-losses is paramount. As an example, the 20 period monthly moving average has not been tested in over two years. When I see this, it tells me that while the stock has been a tremendous winner and is likely to continue to be so, the risk in holding for longer periods of time rises as well.