Yahoo Finance Warren Buffett's $1bn Investment In Apple
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is betting on a rebound in the fortunes of Apple (LSE: 0R2V.L - news) after taking a $1bn (£690m) stake in the technology giant.
Apple has been under pressure after reporting recently that sales of the iPhone had fallen for the first time.
Quarterly revenues have also slipped for the first time in 13 years.
Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) are down by more than 10% in the year to date but climbed 4% to more than $94 after Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (Sao Paolo: BERK34F.SA - news) vehicle disclosed its new holding.
Steve Wallman of Wallman Investment Counsel said: "The stock is stunningly cheap, and it has a massive pile of cash.
"Apple is not getting credit for research and development it is doing behind the scenes, which will eventually show up in new products."
Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) , said: "Apple is beginning to look much more attractive than it did when it was trading above $120.
"Perhaps this is the moment that the slump comes to an end - it would certainly send the right message, bringing other investors back on board at a moment when faith in the tech giant seems to be wavering."
Apple chief executive Tim Cook is looking to develop other technologies and last week unveiled a $1bn investment in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, a rival of Uber.
Mr Buffett's investment deepens his commitment to the technology sector, which he has largely shunned apart from a big stake in IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) .
The decision puts him at odds with another billionaire investor, Carl Icahn, who last month sold his entire Apple stake on concerns China could make it harder for the company to do business there.
Mr Buffett's closely watched investment decisions include his backing for the mega-merger between food giants Heinz and Kraft last year.
In the UK he has invested in Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) but sold off a big tranche of his shares in 2014 as the group was hit by an accounting scandal and the supermarket price war.
