Apple’s (AAPL) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. KGI Securities raised shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $248.80 on Friday. Apple has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $3.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $18,936,000. Up Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $1,583,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $41,605,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 55,696 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,141,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carter Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,577,000. 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: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a ‘significant’ product launch year ahead of WWDC
• Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in‑house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high‑margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple’s Services: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply‑chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company‑specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.