Apple stock drops six percent on Frankfurt stock exchange after Jobs' leave announced

Apple stock has a tendency to tank if there is a fear that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will a) retire, b) face health issues, c) and certainly if he takes a medical leave. While Monday's announcement that Steve Jobs was taking another medical leave came on a U.S. stock market holiday, such is not the case in other parts of the world, and in Frankfurt's trading market, Apple stock is down 6.2 percent at the time of this writing.

In 2008, a fake story about a Steve Jobs heart attack sent Apple stock plummeting. In reality, when Jobs took a leave of absence in 2009, Apple did not miss a beat.

Despite that, Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell suggested that investors be prepared themselves for a price drop similar to the one that occurred after the announcement of Jobs’ first medical leave. He said:

“We’ve been here before at the start of 2009, so it’s probably going to be similar to that. Operationally the company coped very well last time, but there’s a certain Jobs premium in the stock, and that will be the concern.”

For some, depending on the drop, it might be a good time to buy Apple stock. Cook has proven he can handle Apple on a day-to-day basis, and thus any ding to the Apple stock shouldn't be long-term.

At the same time, this is bound to bring the issue of Apple and CEO succession to the table, again. Earlier this month, Central Laborers Pension Fund in Jacksonville, IL proposed that Apple be more forthcoming about its CEO succession plans for Jobs.