Apple (AAPL), the second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization, made big news on Monday, announcing that CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, effective September 1. He’s moving to the role of executive chairman. John Ternus will replace him at the helm of the iPhone maker.
Change at the top of one of the largest, most widely followed companies could open the door for tactical traders to use the Direxion Daily AAPL Bull 2X Shares (AAPU ) or the Direxion Daily AAPL Bear 1X Shares (AAPD ). AAPU attempts to deliver 200% of the daily returns of Apple stock. Meanwhile, the bearish AAPD is an inverse, though not leveraged, ETF.
Prior to this announcement, Ternus has been the senior vice president of hardware engineering at Apple. He has big shoes to fill when he takes the reins of the iPad maker later this year. Cook led the company for 15 years. True, he received some criticisms about innovation during that time. However, Apple shares appreciated mightily and undeniably under Cook’s stewardship. For traders considering occasional use of the bullish AAPU, those opportunities may arise in the months ahead. After all, Ternus is steeped in Apple experience.
“Ternus, 50 years old, had been rumored to be the internal successor for several months, with Cook turning 65 in 2025 after 15 years in charge,” noted Morningstar’s William Kerwin. “Ternus has been credited with hardware design on the Mac and iPad, working in hardware and products for 25 years at Apple.”
Opportunities to Consider AAPD, AAPU
Experienced traders know that ETFs such as AAPD and AAPU are not buy-and-hold instruments. ETFs of this nature are best deployed over short holding periods, such as a day or a few days. The implication there is that these funds benefit from events and headlines.
Apple has obvious heft, brand recognition and overall importance in the U.S. investment landscape. Given that, the company could bring AAPD and AAPU into focus on multiple occasions this year. What Ternus has in store for the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) efforts may be a prime example.
“Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy will be Ternus’ first focus,” added Kerwin. “We believe Apple is ready to release improved AI software under its partnership with Google Gemini this year, and we expect Ternus to focus on the integration of distilled Google models with Apple’s own software and hardware ecosystem.”
For traders that can’t wait to use AAPD or AAPU, Apple reports earnings on April 30. Its worldwide developer conference (WWDC) runs from June 8 to June 12. Either or both events could spark these Direxion ETFs.
At WWDC, “we expect the announcement of revamped AI features under Apple Intelligence, and for Ternus to participate meaningfully in the keynote, which we expect to be on June 8,” concluded Kerwin.
While only experienced traders should use leveraged products, Direxion does have a dedicated "education center":https://www.direxion.com/leveraged-etf-education for those interested in learning more about these funds.
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