Apple’s (AAPL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report released on Monday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. China Renaissance lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.14.

Apple Stock Up 0.0%

Apple stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $337.13. 2,025,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,423,477. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $321.36 and its 200 day moving average is $296.51. Apple has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $345.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.19, for a total transaction of $474,813.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,867,873.66. This represents a 4.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,632 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,955. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $376,168,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone demand remains a key catalyst. Apple is reportedly seeing stronger demand for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in India, with customers waiting in long lines despite higher prices. Bank of America also reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $370 price target. Apple iPhone demand in India
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s services ecosystem continues to expand. Square sellers can now manage their presence across Apple Maps, Siri, Apple Wallet and other Apple applications, potentially increasing usage of Apple’s business and payments ecosystem. Square integration with Apple apps
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Qualcomm extended their global patent licensing agreement. The renewal, effective April 1, 2027, removes near-term licensing uncertainty, although Apple’s longer-term shift toward proprietary modem technology remains a concern for Qualcomm. Qualcomm Apple licensing agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is broadening its AI hardware strategy. Reports suggest Apple may develop its own AI servers using future M-series chips, while its new Macs target local enterprise AI workloads. The strategy could reduce cloud costs and create new revenue opportunities, but commercial adoption is unproven. Apple AI servers
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential new wearables provide long-term optionality. Apple is reportedly developing a screenless fitness tracker to compete with Whoop and Oura, but the product remains exploratory and may not launch until 2028. Apple screenless fitness tracker
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in AI is intensifying. Meta’s new smart glasses and Muse AI agent are attracting significant attention, raising concerns that Apple could lose ground in emerging AI interfaces and agent-based services. Meta AI glasses competition
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks are weighing on the stock. At roughly $4.92 trillion in market value and about 39 times earnings, analysts warn that substantial future AI and cash-flow growth may already be reflected in AAPL’s price. A reported second round of layoffs, this time affecting Fitness+, adds to concerns about uneven product execution. Apple valuation concerns

About Apple

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company’s ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.