The chart refreshes an old rally target, a major Hidden Pivot at 283.97 that we’ve been using to stay unemotionally on the right side of the trend since last spring. The target still looks likely to be reached, presumably before Christmas. With Aramco hitting $2 trillion following its recent IPO, AAPL became the world’s second most valuable company.  Even so, it remains the most important bull-market bellwether, since no portfolio manager can be without it and because the company can do no wrong in their eyes. But I’d be very surprised if it spears the target on the first try, since this Hidden Pivot is so clear and compelling. We’ll plan on getting short if and when the stock gets there, but if it happens later in the week than a Tuesday, options expiring the following week will be the play.  Buy the first put strike at which the options are trading for less than 1.00. _______ UPDATE (Dec 17, 8:35 p.m. EST): Just one more inch! Bid 0.30 for eight Jan 3 265 puts, day order, but only if the stock has not traded above 284.15. Be prepared to lose it all, since this is a very speculative bet that seeks to precisely intercept a steep rally. ______ UPDATE (Dec 18, 11:04 p.m.): Leave the bid in for another day, but don’t pay up. _______ UPDATE (Dec 22): If at least two subscribers report buying puts when AAPL topped on Friday at 283.54, I’ll establish a tracking position. Meanwhile, if the stock goes any higher without a correction, it would shock me. _______ UPDATE (Dec 23, 6:12 p.m.):  The stock has hung up at the target, creating uncertainty no matter how you’ve decided to play it. The puts traded within a penny of the 0.30 bid I’d suggested, so I’ll assume eight bought for 0.32. Do nothing further for now. ______ UPDATE (Dec 26, 5:21 p.m.): Obviously in the grip of frothing-at-the-mouth madmen, AAPL lurched sharply higher after a shallow, four-day correction. Our puts, once worth $240, are D.O.A., and the stock is now bound for a 294.74 target that I posted in the chat room at 12:59. I noted at the time that there was a “106% chance” AAPL would get there, but that was a misprint; I meant 116%. _______ UPDATE (Dec 29, 6:05 p.m.): The stock sold off $6 after topping $1.23 below my target. The reversal was shortable using an rABC setup on the lesser charts, but there’s no evidence thus far that anyone did the trade. Subscribers? ________ UPDATE (Dec 30, 5:32 p.m.): So resilient was this stock on Monday that someone wondered facetiously in the Rick’s Picks trading room whether Apple had discovered a cure for cancer. Nothing of the sort. With the FAANG/lunatic stocks down across-the-board, The Geniuses had to buy something. AAPL remains the number one institutional favorite on the planet, of late because the company supposedly has a captive audience for ‘content’ yet to be scripted.