Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns Underweight Rating from Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Barclays in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $164.00 price objective on the iPhone maker's stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential downside of 20.83% from the company's previous close.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $216.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.47.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $14.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.15. The stock had a trading volume of 171,887,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,415,867. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $207.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $180.37 and a 200-day moving average of $183.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its holdings in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.