Apple shares rebound on Thursday, company set to receive unconditional approval by EU regulators for Shazam acquisition

According to a report by Reuters earlier this week, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, Apple Inc (AAPL) is poised to obtain unconditional approval by EU antitrust regulators for its intended purchase of music discovery app Shazam.

The app is able to identify songs when users point their smart phones at a particular audio source.

No valuation of the deal, however, has yet been disclosed by the tech giant.

Apple shares closed higher for the sixth time in the past nine trading sessions on NASDAQ on Thursday. The stock edged up 0.20% ($0.44) to $215.49, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $217.05 and $214.60 respectively.

Shares of Apple Inc have surged 27.34% so far in 2018 compared with a 6.86% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Apple’s stock gained 46.11%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Apple first announced the deal in December 2017. A possible Shazam acquisition would increase Apples competitiveness against the industry leader in music streaming services, Spotify.

In April, a full-scale investigation was embarked on by the European Commission in relation with the deal, as the regulator cited concerns that the acquisition might provide Apple Inc with an unfair advantage in poaching users from competitors.

The case was taken over by the European Commission from national EU regulatory authorities after a request from seven countries within the bloc.

According to CNN Money, the 35 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Apple Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $215.00, with a high estimate of $275.00 and a low estimate of $170.00. The median estimate represents a 0.23% downside compared to the closing price of $215.49 on August 23rd.

The same media also reported that 20 out of 39 surveyed investment analysts had rated Apple Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 14 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

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 – $215.71
R2 – $215.94
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $216.16
R4 (Long Breakout) – $216.84
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $217.62
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $217.95

S1 – $215.27
S2 – $215.04
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $214.82
S4 (Short Breakout) – $214.14
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $213.36
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $213.03

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

Central Pivot Point – $214.41
R1 – $221.12
R2 – $224.66
R3 – $231.37
R4 – $238.08

S1 – $210.87
S2 – $204.16
S3 – $200.62
S4 – $197.08