Give your best thoughts. I've been hearing both sides of the story. Some analysts predict a short term run of $10 to $20 up and others say the Iphone will be a disappointing flop for Apple in the first three to four weeks.

I would not buy Apple now. The I-Phone is old news. Everyone and their mother have having been talking about it and Apple itself, meaning a lot of the I-Phone hype is already priced into the stock. The phone would have to blow away even the hyped up expectation for Apple to go higher.
To make the most money, you should try to stay ahead of the curve. Think of a company that will do well in the future before the rest of the world is talking about it.

There are two schools of thought here.

1. The market has under-anticipated the sales of the iPhone and the share price will increase when the next quarter results post higher than expected earnings.

2. The market has over-anticipated the sales of the iPhone and the share price will drop when the next quarter results post lower than expected earnings.

Either way, the market has already adjusted the share price for what it anticipates the sale to be. The question now is whether or not the market is right. My guess, the share price will not move much. I am guessing that the market has a pretty good grasp on what the sales of the iPhone will be. However, this is only my guess. No one can do better than guess at this point in time.

It's not uncommon for a stock to run up in anticipation of an event, and to sell off when the event takes place. It's not always due to disappointment... it's often a case of profit taking by those who made money in the run up.

I personally think Apple will be at least 10-25% higher in the next 12 months (and, I'd expect to see a stock split thrown in along the way), so I think it's a good buy if you're thinking of holding it for several months.

If you're thinking about a quick trade, you might want to consider buying a partial position now and place a limit order to buy another partial position $5-$10 lower. If the stock takes off, you'll still profit from the partial position you bought. If it pulls back temporarily on profit taking, you could end up with a full position at a lower cost, which will probably earn you more when the stock resumes its move upward.

Just my two cents....