Tim Brown: Apple's Appeal

However, despite any short-term pain, I think Apple is a solid company to hold on to for the long run. I have been watching Apple for a while, and I think now is the right time to buy. Sure, there are challengers in the marketplace to some of its products, but not many have the brand awareness or the head start in the fields that Apple does. How many iPod competitors can you name?

The company's stats also appeal to me. It is now trading at just about $99 in afternoon trading following a 4% decline on Thursday. It has shed more than 44% during the last year, vs. just 35% for the S&P. It's much closer to its 52-week low of $85, which it hit on Oct. 10, than it is to its 12-month high of almost $203.

It has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, which is a little on the low side, telling me investors are not overly confident in this stock. It had a return on equity of more than 32% and revenue of $32.48 billion. It has more than $24 billion in the bank and $9.6 billion in operating cash flow.

This is a big company that will help you in the long run or for a long run.

Keep moving the chains!