[jcfrei]

I've read somewhere that this is somewhat unprecedented in the history of economics. Traditionally hoarding cash was frowned upon by investors and the stock prices of companies with large cash reserves traded at a discount. That negative discount by the stock market appears to have vanished but nobody is sure why. Maybe it's regarded as an insurance against technological disruptions. In such a case companies like Apple could quickly acquire new competitors.

[pg314]

Apple is trading at a discounted P/E compared to Nasdaq as a whole, and has done so for years. They have caught up a bit in the last couple of months, though. I'm not sure it's because of their large cash reserves, but it might be a factor.