Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Posted by Geri Gentry on May 15th, 2026

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report)’s share price shot up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $300.92 and last traded at $298.87. 50,795,307 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 47,183,602 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.80.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic’s Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple’s Desktop Operating System

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.74.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL

Apple Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $264.61 and a 200 day moving average of $267.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apple

(Get Free Report)

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.