Best strategy to protect my gains on AAPL

bearNbull said: "1800 shares @ 122.47 was my entry point. I'm still holding and I would like any suggestions on what would be the smartest way to protect my gains. I know it's never a good idea to hold any position on earnings but I have this feeling that it would hit the roof after it's earnings report."

Paq13 said: "trailing or hard stop, either way. or cut now and wait till earnings are out and try to buy in during the frenzy if it runs hard if it's like MA, it'll run hard and find a plateau giving a good bit of time to buy in before it peaks. if they have a bad earnings report, wait till it 'corrects' then buy in. or take the risk and hold."

Rickster said: "You are only up 10%. If one position being up 10% is worrying you, then you have too large a position to be holding. If you are a short term trader, take your profits. If you are a longer term trader, diversify."

bearNbull said: "[QUOTE=Rickster]You are only up 10%. If one position being up 10% is worrying you, then you have too large a position to be holding. If you are a short term trader, take your profits. If you are a longer term trader, diversify.[/QUOTE] Hmmm.... Maybe you are correct. I should shave some of my position and just keep maybe 30%-40% of it. Nevertheless; I still would like some suggestions on how to protect my profits. Options maybe?? Thanks"

buy2gain2 said: "I will hold AAPL for a long long time! It has great future. I have been telling people this for some time now. If you are too scared of losing your money then hold for now and sell on the earnings day, in the evening! May be you will be able to get few more points by then. OE is next week (Friday) so some kind of manipulation is going to happen next week (Assuming no breaking news comes from AAPL such as European iPhone deal, iPhone sell number etc). Once OE is done, AAPL is free to roll on for the earnings. I am very confident that the earnings will be groundbreaking but all depends on the forward guidance and any new announcements on future products etc. I have great faith in apple. Bottom line , If you are a trader then sell before earnings and after this month's OE!"

Wangberg said: "[QUOTE=buy2gain2]I will hold AAPL for a long long time! It has great future. I have been telling people this for some time now. [/QUOTE] i'm skeptical with apple. It seems they carry their company with one wild product after another...how long can this go on for? granted the ipods were revolutionary and actually sparked some interest in their computer products. When jobs left a few years back the company almost went out of business, it wasn't until he was dragged back to pick up the pieces....then came the ipod. unless they can keep up the endless production of over-hyped and over-priced gadgets, the company has nothing. it kills me to see the iphone so well...what a hunk of junk. PDA's, blackberries, and treos have been around forever....now that apple comes out with a touch screen (oohhhhhh woooowww) PDA phone, it's supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. please....there are plenty of phones and phone manufacturers who have been in the business WAY longer such as nokia, motorola, etc. I'd bank on nokia over AAPL any day. Apple has nothing and until they can produce something to the same magnitude as their ipod, i wouldn't bet on them. It was 7 months ago that appl was at 90....now at 137. All because of iphone hype. Don't bank on a product that is driving the company which has only been released for half a month."

Corey said: "Don't forget that after the iPod takeoff, Apple's computers eventually began to create more revenue for Apple then their iPod sales. You may think the iPhone is creating all the hype, but behind the hype, Apple is converting students. I am seeing more kids show up to college with a Mac than almost any other computer (well, maybe Dell is still ahead). Are they overvalued? Maybe. But they are one of the defining stocks of this bull market, and until they drop, this market won't either -- and it will just keep pushing them higher. And with so much market share to take back, Apple could continue to expand their computer market and really start to grow again."

Wangberg said: "[QUOTE=Corey]Don't forget that after the iPod takeoff, Apple's computers eventually began to create more revenue for Apple then their iPod sales. You may think the iPhone is creating all the hype, but behind the hype, Apple is converting students. I am seeing more kids show up to college with a Mac than almost any other computer (well, maybe Dell is still ahead). [/QUOTE] yeah, but the ipod spurred their computer sales. It wasn't like their products were over night better or cooler....AAPL is a 25 year old fad that should have died when jobs left the first time. keep your eyes on Red Hat (RHT)....just dropped a good 10% after news of R&D and operating costs up. They just started a more aggressive sales strategy for china and East Asia. The server world is becoming linux dominated and those who have been using microsoft products for so many years are realizing that linux is better in so many ways....Watch Red Hat"