Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Cut to Sell at DZ Bank

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by equities researchers at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $300.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock. DZ Bank‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 9.61% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Argus upped their target price on shares of Apple from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $303.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.51.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $331.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $334.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.13. Apple has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $351.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 128.88%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.36, for a total transaction of $823,720.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,396 shares in the company, valued at $11,123,490.56. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade 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. Insiders sold a total of 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. rebel Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 8.9% during the third quarter. rebel Financial LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth about $107,000. Griffith & Werner Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. now owns 30,600 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,190,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. StoneRidge PMG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $8,129,000. Finally, Burton Enright Welch lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.9% in the third quarter. Burton Enright Welch now owns 38,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,795,000 after buying an additional 4,698 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year, and EPS of $2.10, beating analyst estimates. Strong iPhone demand—iPhone revenue rose 17.5%—and Mac sales helped drive the results. Apple Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, iPhone Drives Top-Line Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating, arguing that investors should look beyond near-term margin pressure to Apple’s longer-term opportunity. Buy Apple Stock After Earnings, Says Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is Apple’s forecast for a 45%–46% gross margin in the holiday quarter, below the recent quarter’s 47.9%. Management cited sharply higher memory-chip costs and spending tied to Siri AI; investors worry these expenses will limit profit growth even with strong sales. Apple Shares Slide as Higher Memory Costs Fuel Margin Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also saw softer signals beneath the headline beat: services growth is expected to slow, China revenue missed expectations, and higher component costs are being accompanied by increased inventory and supplier commitments. The stock’s premium valuation may make it more vulnerable if growth or margins disappoint. Apple Growth, Margins Likely Face Pressure in 2027, UBS Says

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.