Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Rating Lowered by Jefferies Financial Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. They presently have a $200.75 price target on the iPhone maker's stock, down from their prior price target of $211.84. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would indicate a potential downside of 15.71% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.05.

Apple Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.19 on Thursday, hitting $238.18. The stock had a trading volume of 15,292,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,623,488. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $241.37 and its 200 day moving average is $230.81. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

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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