Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Gets Downgrade from Phillip Securities

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Phillip Securities from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citic Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Apple from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.74.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $342.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $336.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.50. Apple has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $355.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.40 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 128.88%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apple will post 9.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Prospect Hill Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 136.9% during the third quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,490,000 after buying an additional 21,676 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.