Short Interest in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Grows By 6.0%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 141,040,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the October 31st total of 133,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $243.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,364,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,757,191. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $244.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.99, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’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 transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dantai Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 45,715 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,652,000 after purchasing an additional 5,215 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $31,508,000. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $1,558,000. Oriental Harbor Investment Fund acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,178,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 37,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,773,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% 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.