At the news of Steve Job's departure from Apple's top job,Mark Anderson – KPLU's "The Digital Future" commentator and CEO of Strategic News Service, the first subscription-based newsletter on the Internet – told his subscribers to sell sell sell.
Jobs, "has asked the board to name Tim Cook as CEO," Anderson wrote in his letter. "While I think Tim Cook is one of the most able managers in the industry, there is only one SteveJ when it comes to creating 'insanely great' new designs.
"For those members who have not yet sold their stock, I would recommend doing so now. It will be years before Apple's fortunes, derivative and line-extended, begin to dwindle, but market-timing has always been a fool's errand."
After an initial sell off, the Associated Press reportsthat Apple's stocks have rebounded.
And, Richard Gardner at Citigroup recommended investors buy the stock if it drops, the Associated Press said. Jobs laid a strong foundation for the company, and Gardner expects it to gain market share for years to come.
"In our view, Tim (Cook) is a tough but well-regarded leader who will continue to hold Apple employees to an extremely high standard of performance," Gardner wrote.
Apple shares were down $8, or 2.1 percent, at $368.16 in pre-market trading. That's half the loss seen in Thursday's extended trading. Analyst reactions such as Gardner's were soothing, reminding investors that Jobs' departure was expected due to his health problems, even if the timing was not certain.
In his advisory letter, Anderson had high praise for Jobs:
"... we want to thank you, Steve, for adding Wonder and Delight to the information age, for people of every age, and from every country in the world. You remain the greatest product genius of all time, and we are all the richer for it."
