Well now that the extremely hyped and widely anticipated Apple iPad has finally been unveiled it is time to evaluate the potential winners and losers. As discussed at http://community.tradeking.com/members/bigdog/blogs/53185-are-you-digging-aapl-s-new-ipad there are certainly some high profile stocks that are involved in one way or the other.

Market Impact on Widely Traded Stocks  

Amazon.com (AMZN) is certainly the first company that will come to mind that will be impacted as its very popular Kindle product is sure to lose market share. This stock has had a very good run in 2009 but should see some resistance in 2010 as the Apple iPad starts to gain traction. In addition, book retailers will definitely suffer with their poor operating margins in particular Barnes & Noble (BKS) will lose share with its eReader product the nook.

I certainly think Apple (AAPL) will be a big winner over the long-term. Once the marketplace sees the extreme functionality over what is out there now and throw in the ease of use and it will not be long before the slight price differential becomes a non-issue. Also, you have the other popular suite of products that the iPad will be able to interface with and you have a product poised to blast off.

Playing the iPad Market Shakeup with Options

You should consider investing in Apple as iPad profits are sure to come. However, you will need to take a 9 to 12-month timeframe. You can certainly buy the stock outright but you can profit from this bullish opportunity by using at-the-money or slightly in-the-money call options. Be sure to use the longer-term Leap options like the January 2011 or 2012 series. This will provide enough time for you to realize the profits that are predicted to come from the new iPad.

Cheers and Happy Investing. 

Jeff Neal