Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) shares were set to drag on a Nasdaq-100 exchange traded fund on Monday as the closely watched tech giant continues to struggle after dropping below its 200-day moving average.
PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) was off 0.3% in preopen trade while top holding Apple slid nearly 1%.
Last week, JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) said it hired Apple executive Ron Johnson, head of the retail effort, as its new CEO.
“This is no doubt a loss but we do not think it’s the end of the world for Apple,” Sterne Agee analysts wrote in a recent note. “For one thing, Apple has a very deep bench of talent and we would argue that the company’s culture and way of thinking is ingrained so that if one person leaves, it would not be devastating (save for Steve Jobs and a few other executives perhaps).”
They added that Apple has faced high-profile departures in the past but “hasn’t missed a beat.”
Still, Apple shares have suffered technical damage recently. Apple hasn’t closed below its 200-day moving average since April 2009 and the level “will now act as resistance on any move higher,” TradersHuddle.com said, adding that the stock has turned negative for the year.