Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Monday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $330.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $339.57 and last traded at $336.91. 49,251,266 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 50,291,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.02.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its Apple price target ahead of earnings and expects the company to outperform expectations on iPhone and Mac revenue. Goldman raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity indicates traders are positioning for a significant upward move following earnings, while Apple’s recent rally and record-level trading reflect strong investor momentum. Options traders bet on Apple after earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is receiving support from a broad market rally sparked by hopes of a pause in U.S.-Iran hostilities and falling oil prices. The company is also drawing attention as it challenges Nvidia for the world’s largest market capitalization, with some investors favoring Apple’s comparatively restrained capital spending. Apple overtakes Nvidia
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect consumer products, particularly the iPhone, and continued Services growth to support the quarterly results. Longer-term potential catalysts include smart glasses, a possible foldable iPhone and a device upgrade cycle.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst. Investors will focus on revenue, margins, Services growth, iPhone demand, forward guidance and management’s outlook for AI investment. Apple’s valuation leaves limited room for an earnings or forecast miss. Apple earnings setup
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary criticizing Apple’s relatively low AI spending compared with rivals has revived concerns that the company could fall behind in generative AI, weakening its long-term growth narrative. Apple AI spending concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces additional uncertainty from an upcoming CEO transition, potential supply-chain and geopolitical issues involving Chinese memory chips, and heightened expectations after its sharp recent advance.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $4.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $306.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple Company Profile

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.