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Scott Moritz Full of Ca-Ca. Again.

For those of you just tuning in, financial “analyst”, Scott Moritz of theStreet.com, has proven once again that he doesn’t know jack when it comes to Apple, how the technology sector works, or even the stock market. Moritz first spread rumors that Wall Street expected Apple to sell upwards of 1 million iPhones in the weekend launch of their new product. This despite the fact that no one but Moritz himself had circulated that figure to the press.

Then, later when Apple dropped the price of the iPhone, he reported that the move was because the iPhone wasn’t selling as fast as “some optimists” (read Moritz himself), had expected. According to Moritz, Apple dropped the price to keep sales brisk and catch up with Wall Street’s sagging expectations. More factless speculation on his part, especially since the iPhone eventually hit 1 mil units in just 74 days.

Now we can say with absolute certainty, that Moritz was full of crap on at least one other report he filed. On October 17th 2007, 9 days before Leopard went public, he reported from theStreet.com that Apple would be shipping an ultra-portable 13-inch laptop as a companion to the operating system launch. Do you remember Apple announcing a new 13-inch MacBook on Leopard’s launch day? No, your memory isn’t fading. You didn’t just happen to miss the news that day. Moritz’s prediction never happened.

Not only did it not happen, there was no reason to ever believe it in the first place. Apple has never announced new hardware in tandem with an operating system release. Never. And why would they? Jobs wouldn’t risk overshadowing an OS launch that has taken years for Apple to develop, test and ship with that of a flashy new sub-notebook or powerful desktop computer. Any “analyst” who tells you differently is blowing smoke up your ass for some reason. As I’ve speculated before, I suspect Moritz is either very bad at his job or is intentionally trying to manipulate Apple’s stock price. Either way theStreet.com needs to grow a spine and get a new Apple expert. All investors of AAPL need to know is anything that comes out of Scott Moritz’s mouth or published in his columns isn’t worth the time it takes to watch or read it.

Disclosure: I own stock in Apple Computer.

10 Comments

  1. I’m still betting that we will see a piece from him criticising apple for failing the release the widely reported ultra-portable 13-inch laptop due to technical issues that are very serious but that his sources won’t disclose.

  2. I think that’s Scott’s own anal-ysis on the ThinkSecret rumor of a slim MacBook in early Nov. Personally, I think that is quite likely if you look back at the MacBook release and update history. Maybe Scott just thought he knew better and that somehow Apple would break the mold of years of hardware and software releases.

    I wish I could get a job like Scott’s… I wonder how much it pays.

  3. Man, put that guy next to Steve Balmer in one of those “Separated at Birth?” photos!

    That would ‘splain a lot…

  5. Gadget, if you go watch that clip from Endgaget, Moritz speaks as if he *knows* a 13-inch MacBook will be released on the 26th. He says things like “it will have…” not like it is a rumor or speculation, but that he, of all people has confirmed info that this piece of hardware will be announced. He also says nothing about ThinkSecret or other rumor sites.

    Finally, Alix Steel (what a god-awful name) ends the report with a statement that makes it all but factual that Apple will release this hardware with Leopard.

    Shoddy, error and rumor based reporting masquerading as fact from theStreet.com. A blatant attempt to manipulate investors and the AAPL stock price IMHO. This has happened before and Jim Cramer has all but admitted it. He, Mortiz and others at theStreet.com should be ashamed.

  6. @Ged said “He, Mortiz and others at theStreet.com should be ashamed.”

    Actually they should be charged and tried for criminal activities if indeed they are attempting to manipulate AAPL. Probably toohard to prove, though. Darn.

  7. TheStreet is a “pump and dump” news outlet. Hell, even the NAME of the site is intended to make you think “Wall Street Journal” and lend it credibility. Pure stock manipulation drivel.

    If everyone is cautious, TheStreet will write a glowing review and upbeat prediction to pump up the stock price. If everyone is eager, TheStreet will come out with a doom-and-gloom report, pushing down it’s stock value.

    They do this to EVERY company they cover. Apple is just the latest. When something else gets popular (soft drinks, small trucks, coffee futures, whatever) they will start covering it with the same non-analysis they currently give to MS, Apple, HP, and Dell.

  9. “Either way TheStreet.com needs to grow a spine … .”

    That’s antithetical to their business, working hard to move prices, up, down, or sideways, to make money. “Journalism” is a cover for their real work at TheStreet.com.

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