Analysts downplay AAPL's dip as Jobs resigns

Apple's stock took a downturn yesterday, as might be expected after the resignation of Steve Jobs. According to WIRED, Apple's stock lost approximately 7.39 percent of its value in after-hours trading. A day later the stock has recovered well; as of this writing the stock price is actually higher than it was earlier in the week, though it still hasn't recovered the full value it lost yesterday.

Apple's stock performance doesn't currently reflect the doom n' gloom that many pundits expected following Jobs's departure from his CEO role. Rather than a panicked sell-off, AAPL's performance over the past 24 hours appears to reflect confidence in both new CEO Tim Cook and Apple's future.

Financial analysts have noted the drop, but they have said it's of little concern because Jobs's departure has been expected for a long time. A fair amount of financial analysis over the past few years has even suggested that uncertainty surrounding Jobs's health and Apple's CEO succession plan might have been holding the stock performance back.

Of course, it's a little dangerous to make broad financial forecasts this soon after Jobs's resignation. Microsoft's stock price barely budged in the days after Bill Gates stepped down, but the stock declined sharply the following year (losing nearly half its value) and has been relatively stagnant since. Hopefully the same thing won't happen to Apple.

If you're an investor, please take note that we are not financial analysts ourselves, and we're not offering any financial advice here.