Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 2.3% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was down 2.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $255.45 and last traded at $255.78. Approximately 54,918,795 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 54,638,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $261.73.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s recent results and iPhone strength underpin fundamentals — revenue and EPS topped expectations and Counterpoint data show iPhone was the only smartphone brand to grow in China in January, supporting the company’s core hardware revenue outlook. Strong iPhone Sales Drive Apple Up 18% in 6 Months: Buy the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence and price‑target moves remain supportive — firms continue to issue Buy/Outperform takes and higher targets, keeping upside narratives alive for longer‑term investors. Sanford C. Bernstein Raises Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $340.00
• Positive Sentiment: Legal win reduces a downside litigation overhang — a U.S. jury rejected Optis Wireless’ 4G patent claims, removing a potential multi‑hundred‑million dollar exposure. Apple Scores Major Legal Victory As Jury Rejects Optis Wireless’ 4G Patent Claims
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire’s large Apple dividend receipts underscore the stock’s income importance to big holders — cash returns and buybacks remain structural supports for valuation. Warren Buffett just got a $26 million dividend check from this stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Content and streaming moves (e.g., Apple acquiring rights to Severance, Vision Pro app additions) are strategic but unlikely to shift near‑term revenue materially; they support longer‑term services/entertainment narratives. Apple acquires all rights to Severance, will produce future seasons in-house
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector dynamics: broader Magnificent Seven weakness is pressuring Apple along with peers; this is more about rotation and AI capex concerns than company‑specific fundamentals. Amazon Joins Microsoft in Bear Market. Why Mag 7 Stocks Are Struggling.
• Negative Sentiment: Siri AI upgrade reportedly hit by testing problems and likely delay — investors fear missed AI‑feature timing and higher AI execution risk, which sparked heavy selling. Apple Taps Brakes on Siri AI Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: the FTC chair sent a letter raising concerns about alleged political bias in Apple News, adding regulatory and reputational uncertainty that unsettled investors. F.T.C. Chair Warns Apple Against Bias in Apple News
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional repositioning and sector flow: reports of large funds trimming Apple exposure and a market‑wide AI scare erased substantial market cap from big tech, amplifying the selloff. Berkshire Might Have Sold More Apple, Bank of America Stock in Fourth Quarter

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.13.

Apple Stock Down 2.3%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.22. The company has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.