Apple applies for a lot of patents. There’s an endless list of patents associated with the company, with a significant number of them never really representing a future product. So it’s quite hilarious when the stock market gets into a panic over them.
That’s just happened for GoPro. Their share price fell by 15% just after news that Apple had filed for a patent of a product that would rival the successful GoPro cameras. The traders caught glimpse of the story (one so insignificant we didn’t bother writing about it) and got into a panic. Their dumping of GoPro stock set alarm bells ringing on the trading floor. But why? This wasn’t even a patent created by Apple – it was one of the many they acquired from Kodak!
This story more than most highlights the lack of knowledge many investors have. Not even Apple is safe when it comes to this sort of thing – for a good year or so, Apple’s shares went off their usual continuous climb simply because the company didn’t introduce any new product lines. Even though sales and revenues were still going through the roof and the company’s products yielded excellent perceptions from customers and journalists alike, investors believed Apple was doomed just because it wasn’t introducing a new line each week like Samsung.
So this poses a lesson for Wall Street – understand the stock you’re investing in. Don’t listen to hearsay.
Source: 9to5Mac
