Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $364.00 to $360.00. The stock had previously closed at $333.43, but opened at $304.81. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Apple shares last traded at $302.7060, with a volume of 30,264,670 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group set a $365.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $329.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported a record June quarter, with revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, up 29%. Results exceeded consensus estimates. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: iPhone revenue surged 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue rose 29% to $10.4 billion, demonstrating resilient demand even as Apple has raised prices on some products. Apple revenue and profits beat expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s active installed base reached a record, and management highlighted long-term opportunities in consumer AI, including a more capable Siri and potential paid AI features. Several analysts maintained Buy or Overweight ratings, with targets as high as $365. Apple’s hybrid AI strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. The company is also launching a U.S. leasing program that could encourage more frequent device upgrades.
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion was below the roughly $114.3 billion consensus estimate. Management warned that “very significant” supply constraints would affect iPhones, Macs and iPads, while CEO Tim Cook described memory-price pressure as a “hundred-year flood.” Apple slides as supply snags cloud outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that rising memory costs will pressure margins and that tariff refunds, which added approximately $0.11 to quarterly EPS and benefited gross margin, will not recur. Apple is evaluating alternatives, including possible product-price increases.
• Negative Sentiment: Services revenue reached a record $30.7 billion but missed expectations, affected by foreign-exchange headwinds, weaker gaming activity and App Store changes. China performance also disappointed, adding to concerns about future growth. Apple services growth concerns
• Negative Sentiment: At approximately 40 times earnings after a sharp rally and a $5 trillion market capitalization, AAPL’s valuation leaves less room for execution or guidance disappointments. Tim Cook’s planned September departure also adds leadership-transition uncertainty.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 9.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $309.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Apple Company Profile

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.