Shares of Apple rose as much as 5.63 percent in late morning trading Monday, following an announcement by co-founder Steve Jobs that he would remain as CEO while undergoing hormone therapy treatment.
Jobs' disclosure of a hormone imbalance as the reason for his health decline and that he would remain as CEO while recovering from therapy treatments propelled shares of Apple to as high as US$95.86 during intraday trading.
That bump to the stock not only came on a day that the Dow Jones Industries were in the red, but also returned Apple's shares to a level where they were trading two weeks ago, when the computer maker stunned Wall Street with its Macworld news.
In mid-December, Apple announced Jobs would forgo his keynote speech at Macworld and that the company would not participate in future Macworld events, renewing rumors and speculation that the high-profile CEO was gravely ill. Apple's stock fell from US$95.43 a share to US$89.16 a share following that announcement. And over the two-week period, the computer maker's shares dipped as low as US$84.55 a share.
Investors apparently appreciated the update Jobs provided on his health, said analyst Shaw Wu, an analyst with Kaufman Bros.
"Investors wanted more transparency and I think the announcement was a lot better than what people feared," Wu said.
He added, however, the announcement by Jobs and Apple was not a total surprise, given the CEO had previously undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer and that his gaunt appearance over the past year had raised investors concerns, while the company and the founder provided very little information about his health.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.com.
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