Tim Ghriskey, a hedge-fund manager with Solaris Group in New York, says the news spooked him.

WSJ: Morgan Stanley Was 'Driver' on Facebook's Wild IPO Ride

"The upstart renegade Apple has now supplanted corporate IBM in profit generation, " said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York, which owns both IBM and Apple shares.

WSJ: Apple Profit Muscles Past IBM

"Case was clearly ineffective, and I didn't see any direction coming out the company under his leadership, " said Tim Ghriskey, president, Ghriskey Capital Partners, a fund manager that has sold its stake in AOL Time Warner.

BBC: AOL chief resigns amid heavy criticism