Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $297.00 and last traded at $295.63. Approximately 42,274,880 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 47,881,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.58.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What’s the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here’s Why It’s Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple’s AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Apple Stock Down 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $285.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th 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 lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.