Apple Shares Down Nearly 30% From Peak, Fall $200 Below Record High

Can it rebound? Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) may still be the most valuable public company, but its shares Friday set a three-month low of $505.75, $200 below their record high of $705.07 set on Sept. 21.

That means shares of the Cupertino, Calif.-based developer of electronics like the iPad have now fallen nearly 30 percent from their peak. The plunge lowers Apple's market value to below $495 billion for the first time in months, although it's still about $100 billion more than the No. 2 company, Exxon Mobil Corp., which traded at $86.49, down 35 cents in midday trading.

Apple closed at $527.68, up $2.06, after setting the low earlier.

Some analysts, such as Topeka Research's Brian White, still maintain 12-month price targets as high as $1,111 for the shares. But other analysts have recently lowered their estimates to around the $800 level.

Apple reported lower-than-expected fourth quarter results, although CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer said demand was strong for new products, including iPhone 5, the iPad and the new iPad Mini.

Apple's fall came after Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) reported better-than-expected third quarter results but warned that current quarter results wouldn't be stellar. Dell shares set a three-year low of $8.69, down 8 percent, before recovering to close at $8.84, down 72 cents.

At Needham, analyst Peter Misek Friday set a new price target of $900 for Apple, after becoming convinced Apple won't start selling iPhones on China Mobil (NYSE: CHL), the No. 1 Chinese carrier, before next year. Many analysts had expected China Mobile would start offering the phones in the current quarter.