Apple stock gets slammed on bigger Mac, iPad price hikes. Why it can weather the storm

Apple shares took a big hit Thursday after the company announced bigger-than-expected price hikes on its MacBooks and iPads. It's a bump in the road — but one that the tech giant is well-equipped to handle. The stock had its worst single session in more than a year, falling more than 6%, as management made its first official move to pass higher memory costs onto consumers since outgoing CEO Tim Cook said that price increases were "unavoidable" last week. Price changes on iPhones are expected, but not before the annual fall launch event. Still, no tech company is in a better spot to navigate these increases. Apple's massive scale and strong relationships with memory suppliers give it an edge over rivals. "I would think their peers would need to raise prices as well, probably even more than Apple because they just don't have the bargaining power to negotiate input prices as Apple has," Jeff Marks, director of Club portfolio analysis, said Thursday. Despite Cook's recent warning, investors sold the stock on concerns about a sales slowdown. "[The] market is worried about the potential demand destruction that could come as a result of these higher prices," Jeff added. The price increases ranged from over 17% to 25% across Macs, iPads, and home devices. D.A. …