Apple shares close lower on Tuesday, tech company unveils new iPad for students

During an education event in Chicago on Tuesday, Apple Inc announced a new 9.7-inch iPad that supports Apple Pencil and is aimed to expand the companys positions in the US education market. However, despite intense competition from cheaper devices, the existing starting price of the new iPad was kept at $299 for students and at $329 for mass consumers.

Apple shares closed lower for the ninth time in the past fourteen trading sessions on Tuesday. The stock went down 2.56% ($4.43) to $168.34, after touching an intraday high at $175.11, or a price level not seen since March 20th ($176.80).

In the week ended on March 25th the shares of the technological company lost 7.35% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of decrease. It has also been the worst performance since the week ended on May 1st 2016.

The stock has extended its loss to 5.49% so far during the current month, following a 6.38% surge in February. The latter has been the first gain out of three months and also the largest one since October 2017.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NASDAQ-listed tech company rose 46.11% following another 10.03% surge in 2016.

According to Reuters, some laptops that feature operating systems provided by Alphabet’s Google or by Microsoft can be purchased for no more than $200.

Apples new iPad is equipped with Touch ID, an HD FaceTime camera, an eight-megapixel rear camera, while its battery can endure for up to 10 hours. The device also comes with an enhanced A10 Fusion chip, which is the same powering unit featured on Apples iPhone 7.

According to data provided by Futuresource Consulting, Apple Inc had the third-largest share (17%) of the K-12 US educational market during the third quarter. At the same time, Alphabet’s Google had a dominant position in mobile computing shipments to schools, or 60% share, followed by Microsoft Corp with a share of 22%.

iPad sales accounted for only 8.3% of Apple’s total revenue ($229.2 billion) in 2017, while iPhone sales – for almost 62%.

According to CNN Money, the 31 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $198.00, with a high estimate of $220.00 and a low estimate of $152.00. The median estimate is a 17.62% surge compared to the closing price of $168.34 on March 27th.

The same media also reported that 22 out of 39 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 13 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Apple stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $169.08
R2 – $169.82
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $170.55
R4 (Long Breakout) – $172.77
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $175.35
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $176.45

S1 – $167.60
S2 – $166.86
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $166.13
S4 (Short Breakout) – $163.91
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $161.33
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $160.23

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Apple Inc (AAPL) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $169.12
R1 – $173.29
R2 – $181.65
R3 – $185.82
R4 – $190.00

S1 – $160.76
S2 – $156.59
S3 – $148.23
S4 – $139.88