Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $228.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.19.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its stake in Apple by 657.1% during 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.