On Reflection So, what actually happened yesterday? APH is coming out with very solid Q results but the market reaction was negative. Why? My best guesses is that the rumor about the deal with big tobacco has been carefully crafted and placed by market makers in order to crash the S/P when it did not materialise. It has been done in anticipation of good results that threaten to lift the price further up with very little chance to put it back under control. This is the only explanation why the “market” was expecting the deal so nervously in such a short space of time and just a few days before legalisation (remember, Aurora/Coke rumor is long dead but the market seems not to care as much as for the APH/Altria deal). It also proves that the deal is very close, otherwise, the S/P will be absolutely crushed. The CEO interview that followed (earlier agreed and already postponed) could not have been better bearing in mind the circumstances and the pressure...Conclusion: this not an accident- this is just another episode of a market manipulation attempt with the company that will change the landscape of this industry very soon.