Shares of Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL), the largest U.S. company by market value, are up 1.2% today, a move that has sent the iPad maker to a fresh all-time high. On a split-adjusted basis, Apple’s previous all-time high was $100.30 seen on Sept. 19, 2012.
It has taken a while, but Apple’s rise has sent investors scurrying back to exchange traded funds that feature large allocations to shares of the California-based company. Recent inflows to Apple-heavy ETFs represent a reversal of the trend that was seen just a few months when the stock surge over 17% from the start of the second quarter through the end of May, but inflows to so-called Apple ETFs remained tepid. [Investors Tepid on Apple ETFs as Stock Surges]
In the current quarter, investors have been far from tepid on Apple ETFs. Since the start of July, Apple is now up more than 7%, a gain that has helped stoke inflows of $607.2 million to the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLK), the largest tech sector ETF. XLK’s third-quarter inflows have swelled from $442 million as of July 29. XLK sported a weight of 15.6% to Apple as of Aug. 18, 675 basis points greater than the ETF’s weight to its second-largest holding, Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT). [Sector ETFs Get Big as Investors Get Tactical]
In a testament to the power of Apple and its importance to ETFs such as XLK, only the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLY) among sector ETFs has seen greater third-quarter inflows than XLK.
An ETF’s status as an “Apple ETF” could prove rewarding going forward with plenty of hedge funds loading up on the stock. “Omega Advisors, Viking Global Investors, Blue Ridge Capital, and Appaloosa Management have all taken new stakes in the tech giant,” reports CNBC.
XLK is not alone on the Apple-induced inflows front. The iShares U.S. Technology ETF (NYSEArca: IYW) has an 18.3% weight to Apple, which has helped the ETF rake in almost $197 million since the start of July.
Looking at a longer time frame, Apple has surged nearly 16% over the past three months. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that over the three months ending Aug. 17, the PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) added$848 million in new assets. QQQ, the NASDAQ-100 tracking ETF, sports a 13.3% weight to Apple. That is 500 basis points larger than the fund’s allocation to Microsoft, its second-largest holding. [NASDAQ ETFs in the Lead]
Technology Select Sector SPDR
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post. Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple and QQQ.