Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $260.00. The company traded as low as $238.09 and last traded at $237.42. 10,431,853 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 55,421,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.36.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Raymond James boosted their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,473,224,000 after buying an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Apple

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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