NEW YORK, Jan 1 — Shares of Apple Inc, the largest US company by market value, are set to finish the year in the red on notable weakness for a stock that had largely been impervious to pain for several years.

Apple Inc shares are on track to finish the year down 4 per cent, its first down year since 2008.

Shares have shed about a fifth of their value since touching a high of US$134.54 on April 28, and are down 17.5 per cent since the inclusion of the stock in the Dow Jones industrial average in March.

Declines this year have wiped out about US$57 billion (RM244.8 billion) in Apple’s market capitalisation, about as much as fellow Dow component DuPont Co is worth. Apple is currently worth about US$590 billion.

Headed into the last day of trading, the S&P 500 was up 0.22 per cent for the year-to-date. Excluding Apple, the index would be up 0.31 per cent, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Longer term, Apple remains a boost for the index. For 2014, the S&P rose 11.39 per cent. Without Apple, it would have risen only 10.59 per cent. Since the bear market low on March 9, 2009, the S&P is up 204.99 per cent, but losing Apple would mean it would have gained just 197.63 per cent, Silverblatt said.

During its six-year run of gains, the stock has risen by at least 25 per cent in five of those years.

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, who first disclosed a significant stake in Apple in August 2013, owned about 52.76 million shares as of September 30. On that day, the stake was worth US$5.82 billion.

Wall Street analysts still love the stock. Of 49 brokerages, 41 have a positive rating and none hold a “sell” rating. Analysts have a median price target of US$145 — implying a gain of nearly 40 per cent from current levels. — Reuters