Apple Inc (AAPL)

[spitsong]

roni re: Max-Pain

The thing about Max-Pain I've observed is that the Max-Pain number must be tempered by the amount of money attached to that number, and this month there just isn't a lot of money on the table, only $2.1M at the Max-Pain level of $15, or $2.6M at $17.50:

http://www.ez-pnf.com/maxpain/mp63.htm

Sure, there is considerably less pain (or more of it, depending on your perspective) at $20, but even at that level the total value of puts and calls is still just $5.8M, and that just isn't all that much, and in my opinion is not enough of a lever to really move the stock, especially given what you've already pointed out: that AAPL has already run quite a bit past the Max-Pain levels, and it would take quite a bit of "stuff" happening by big players to stuff the genie back in the bottle again.

Maybe another bogus Vivendi rumor could do it (chuckle), but it's hard to imagine this scenario when big brokerages are starting to line up behind AAPL ( http://www.thestreet.com/markets/stockwatch/10094582.html ), and the rumor is that new Power Macs, based on G5 processors, will be unveiled Monday.

Buona fortuna