MidnightTrader's Analyst Play: Apple

Apple (AAPL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed down 4.7% at 160.20 Tuesday, failing to get traction from a positive analyst action this morning and in fact, extending its modest pre-market decline.

The stock slipped 0.1% in pre-market trading, near 168, after AAPL was started with an Overweight rating and a $195 price target at Lehman Bros. The broker cited sales momentum and share gains in Macs, potential for open-ended growth with new iPhones and more new products.

AAPL just favors widening moves between the sessions following analyst rating announcements. Including today, it's widened five times, narrowed in three events, and once ended the day flat with its pre-market performance.

4/22/08 Pre-Market -0.1% at 168; 4/22/08 Regular Session -4.7% at 160.20 - Lehman Bros. starts stock at Overweight.

4/8/08 Pre-Market: -1.5% at 153.71; 4/8/08 Regular Session: 2% at 152.84 - Morgan Keegan downgrade to Underperform from Market Perform.

4/7/08 Pre-Market: up at 156.13; 4/7/08 Regular Session: +1.8% at 155.89 - Thomas Weisel raises rating to Overweight from Market Weight.

2/11/08 Pre-Market: up at 128.01; 2/11/08 Regular Session: +2.6% at 128.76 - Citigroup places issue on its Top Picks List.

12/12/07 Pre-Market: +0.7%; 12/12/07 Regular Session: +2.4% - Morgan Stanley raises price target.

8/2/07 Pre-Market: +1.3%; 8/2/07 Regular Session: +0.9% - Bank of America initiates coverage with a Buy rating.

8/1/07 Pre-Market: +1.31%; 8/1/07 Regular Session: +1.37% - Citigroup raises rating to Buy from Hold.

6/26/07 Pre-Market: +1%; 6/26/07 Regular Session: -2.4% - RBC starts coverage with an Outperform rating.

6/7/07 Pre-Market: +1.4%; 6/7/07 Regular Session: +1.4% - UBS raises price target.

Brooks McFeely is widely regarded as the leading expert on extended-hours trading. He is a Managing Partner for Brochet Capital Partners, LP and the founder of Midnight Trader, Inc. (www.midnighttrader.com), the leading provider of pre-market and after-hours trading analysis and news to retail and institutional investors.