Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Maxim Group to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the iPhone maker's stock. Maxim Group's target price would indicate a potential downside of 12.44% from the company's previous close.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.85.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Apple Stock Down 0.1 %
Apple stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.55. 53,102,300 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,742,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.55. The company has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Apple Company Profile
(
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Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.
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