Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after China Renaissance upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. China Renaissance now has a $425.00 price target on the stock. Apple traded as high as $355.42 and last traded at $355.7210, with a volume of 22,489,270 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $348.51.
AAPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. BTIG Research started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $347.11.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Insider Activity at Apple
In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,051,831.95. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,212 shares of company stock valued at $96,639,685. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
Top Apple Stories
Here are a few of the latest stories about AAPL:
- Positive Sentiment: China Renaissance upgraded Apple to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $425, citing growth potential from the company’s first foldable iPhone. Strong iPhone demand, Services, and possible Siri AI subscriptions also offer potential support for growth. Apple stock gains as analyst sets a $425 target
- Negative Sentiment: Despite record quarterly sales of about $114.5 billion, investors are focused on margin pressure: Apple’s December-quarter gross-margin outlook of 45%–46% came in below the 46.3% analyst expectation, with CEO John Ternus describing memory pricing as “unprecedented.” Higher memory-chip costs could weigh on profitability. Apple faces memory-cost pressure despite record quarter
- Negative Sentiment: Commentary also flags valuation risk after the stock’s strong run, raising the bar for future earnings and growth. Apple shares look expensive heading into 2027
Institutional Trading of Apple
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Patron Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 38,128 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the period. Red Oak Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Red Oak Financial Group LLC now owns 6,317 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $104,147,000. Hamilton Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFC Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 20.8% during the third quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 1,740 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Apple Trading Up 2.0%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $337.27 and a 200 day moving average of $299.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.65, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.07.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.04%.
About Apple
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.
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