Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Lowered to Moderate Sell Rating by Phillip Securities

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by analysts at Phillip Securities from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.60.

Apple Trading Down 1.8%

AAPL opened at $303.42 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple has a twelve month low of $201.68 and a twelve month high of $344.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.90.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple will post 8.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions through 2041 for foreign companies supplying equipment to contract manufacturers. The policy could lower Apple’s manufacturing costs and support its strategy of shifting more iPhone production to India. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to generate substantial free cash flow, with analysts expecting strong cash generation to continue alongside higher revenue forecasts. This supports shareholder returns and provides financial flexibility, although the stock’s valuation limits the upside case. Apple Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow, But What is the Best AAPL Play?
• Positive Sentiment: A reported deal with PlasmaSolve could help Apple develop thinner, stronger device finishes by using software simulations before factory testing, potentially improving manufacturing yields and reducing testing costs. Apple Stock Drops as PlasmaSolve Deal Targets Thinner and Stronger Devices

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.