24/7 Wall St.

Just about the time Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) products were being blocked in China, which could take away its fastest growing market, its short interest for the period that ended June 15 plunged by 36,775,085 to 62,924,036, a 36.9% fall.

Apple’s shares are flat over the last month, when the 3% drop due to Brexit is dropped out. Apple does have exposure in the EU as do many other consumer electronics companies

At the same time it has had problems in China, it has begun to do more business in India, the world’s second largest nation by population. Apple has two advantages there.  The first is its lack of presence, which means it could make big market share gains. The other is that India’s market is not full of smartphones yet, which makes it a fertile market.

Other issues recently:

• Apple says it is moving in the direction of having an “edgeless” screen, which would jump it ahead of its competition
• Analysts have begun to be more optimistic about the current quarter
• As always, there is a great deal of anticipation for Apple’s next iPhone–the iPhone 7
• More and more analysts believe wearables like Apple Watch are part of a market which will grow rapidly
• There is hope that Apple TV can make a run at Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Apple is no longer the world’s leader in market cap. That has gone to Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Over the next two quarters Apple will demonstrate whether it deserves that crown back, or whether it will fall further down the market cap ladder.