Is This the Long-Awaited Apple (AAPL) Pullback?

The recent surge in Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock has been well documented. And analysts have been forecasting a pullback for months.

Well, after a four-and-a-half month run in which the tech stock gained 77% and became the richest publicly traded company in the world, there are signs that that pullback may have finally arrived.

Since reaching an all-time high of $644 a share last Monday, Apple’s stock has plummeted to $585 a share as of 2:00 eastern time today. That’s an 8.7% drop-off in a week, including a 3% decline in just the first few hours of trading today. It’s also the lowest price Apple shares have traded for in a month.

So is this the pullback everyone had been projecting? Did Apple finally get too big for its britches?

That depends on what happens next. But one thing’s for sure: this is certainly the longest and deepest decline Apple has experienced since the tech stock’s epic rally began way back on November 28.

If today’s losses hold, it will mark the first five-day losing skid for Apple since at least November. The 8.7% drop-off is more than double any percent decline in Apple shares during its four-month-plus rampage.

So compared to the mini-dips the stock has taken since November, the last week constitutes a significant pullback.

It may not last long, though. The company announces quarterly earnings next week. If they’re anything like the previous quarter’s near-record earnings, Apple may return to where it was a week ago.