Apple Price Action a Leading Indicator?

Heading into 2012, Apple’s price action ramped up way ahead of the overall markets move to the upside.

•From 6/2011-4/2012, Apple rose roughly $400

And while most of the growth came during the meat of the market surge post October, Apple’s growth was perhaps more impressive given the overall market plunge in August and September.

Maybe this can be explained by the theory of institutional money using Apple as a refuge during market turmoil, this could provide an interesting way of gauging large shifts in market sentiment well in advance. Keep in mind that Apple’s price stalled out well ahead of the market’s plunge in May.

As we see Apple’s stock price surging again, are there lessons to be learned from its previous range expansion?

Remember, Apple broke out of its trading range in June 2011 and began a slow but steady climb before its price exploded in mid December. Apple has broken through significant resistance levels over the past few weeks despite the dour economic conditions. So the question bears asking, is Apple setting up for another explosion in its rate of growth AND does its growth signal a market rally similar to what we saw at the end of 2011?