Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Bank of America

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Bank of America in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $230.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.84% from the stock’s current price.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.29.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AAPL traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $228.08. The stock had a trading volume of 32,033,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,588,273. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $229.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.