Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns Buy Rating from Bank of America

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $380.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 27.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.59.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $297.82. 41,569,892 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,617,902. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.06 and a 200-day moving average of $272.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple has a 52-week low of $196.85 and a 52-week high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evansbrook LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and a $380 price target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. The note suggests Apple may be able to protect margins despite higher component costs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is seen as better positioned than peers to handle the AI-driven memory shortage because it built up inventory in advance, which could help it avoid a sharper margin hit than rivals. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple will work with Intel on U.S.-based chip design and manufacturing were viewed as a strategic supply-chain win and a sign Apple may diversify production more aggressively. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple confirmed it plans to raise prices on some products because memory and storage chip costs have risen sharply. That may support margins, but it could also pressure demand if consumers push back. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also reportedly developing new AI wearables and a foldable iPhone for 2027, which is positive for the long-term product roadmap but too far out to materially affect near-term earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Italy opened a Digital Markets Act probe into Apple’s cloud interoperability practices, adding to ongoing regulatory scrutiny in Europe and creating a potential overhang for the stock. Article Title

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.