USA Financial Formulas Purchases New Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL

USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,336 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,111,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,588,946,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

AAPL opened at $344.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $351.73. 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 company has a market cap of $5.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $333.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.36, for a total value of $823,720.64. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,123,490.56. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063 over the last three months. 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 acquired Ascension Labs, which operates as Ascend.io, gaining access to agentic artificial-intelligence talent and intellectual property. The deal supports Apple’s effort to strengthen its AI capabilities, although financial terms were not disclosed. Apple Acquires AI Firm Ascend.io Talent and Patents
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain supportive: the foldable iPhone Duo reportedly sold out quickly, orders are backed up, and Apple is positioned to benefit from strong iPhone, Mac and Services demand. Analysts including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs remain constructive, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and a $370 price target. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: The first touchscreen MacBook Pro, equipped with OLED displays and M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, expands Apple’s premium hardware lineup and could support a new product-cycle catalyst. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s earnings report is the immediate focus. Investors will look for evidence that revenue growth, Services momentum and AI investments can offset rising component costs and potentially slower holiday growth. Options activity suggests substantial volatility around the release. Apple November 2 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related demand has sharply increased flash-memory prices, raising concerns that Apple’s gross margin will come under pressure. Qualcomm also indicated that Apple-related revenue is declining faster than previously expected, reinforcing concerns about the pace of future iPhone growth. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 40 times earnings and near its yearly high, Apple has limited room for an earnings or guidance disappointment. A senior vice president’s repeated stock sales and a South Korean fine related to app-market practices add modest additional caution. Apple Insider Selling

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Moffett Nathanson set a $283.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.49.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.