&bull; Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) has disappointed shareholders with a 3.4 percent decline in 2015. 
	&bull; Despite bullish valuation metrics, the stock&rsquo;s chart looks extremely weak from a technical perspective. 
	&bull; If Apple&rsquo;s technicals don&rsquo;t improve, the stock may soon bet headed back to re-test its flash crash lows at around $92. 
	 
	Apple&rsquo;s stock has delivered a lackluster return in 2015 of -3.4 percent. Despite record profits and favorable valuation metrics compared to its peers, Apple&rsquo;s chart looks extremely challenged heading into 2016. 
	 
	Bearish formations 
	Apple experienced a death cross back in August and dropped below its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) earlier this month. In addition, its early November peak at $123 fell well short of its previous peaks at around the $132 level in February, April and July. 
	<img alt="" src="/files/u81483/aapl1.jpg" style="width: 480px; height: 214px;" /> 
	 
	In fact, the triple top is an extremely bearish indicator in itself. As if there weren&rsquo;t enough technical signals that the $132 level was a major market top for Apple, Benzinga observed back in April that Apple experienced a bearish engulfing at the peak of its chart, a signal that a stock may have topped.

	&nbsp;

	Related Link:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.benzinga.com/general/education/15/04/5453164/new-bearish-technical-signal-in-apples-chart" style="font-size: 13px;">New Bearish Technical Signal In Apple&#39;s Chart</a> 
	&nbsp;

	To make matters worse, Apple&rsquo;s 2015 trading seems to have formed a head and shoulder pattern, another notoriously bearish technical formation that indicates the end of a long-term uptrend. 
	<img alt="" src="/files/u81483/aapl_1.jpg" style="width: 480px; height: 215px;" /> 
	 
	Frustrating timing 
	For Apple shareholders, the bearish chart is certainly frustrating. Not only is Apple raking in more profits than ever, its valuation fundamentals, including PE ratio, PEG and P/FCF, all indicate that the stock is a much better value than its high-flying large tech peers. 
	 
	What to watch for 
	From a technical perspective, shareholders should be watching the two key support levels indicated by the green lines in the chart below. 
	<img alt="" src="/files/u81483/aapl1.jpg" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; width: 480px; height: 214px;" /> 
	 
	The first line represents the $102-$105 level that, aside from the August flash crash, has served as short-term support going back to late 2014. If Apple falls below that support level, it will likely re-test the $92 level where it found support during the flash crash and several times in the second half of 2014. 
	 
	Apple bulls could breathe a sigh of relief if the stock can climb above $123 and re-test $132, but a move that sizable would likely require a major catalyst and/or several months of positive momentum. 
	 
	Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.

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Apple's Chart Indicates A Tough Start To 2016 Ahead

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