Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to Strong-Buy Rating

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AAPL has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $285.56 to $263.66 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Seaport Research Partners cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $305.59 on Monday. Apple has a 12-month low of $223.78 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $309.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total transaction of $442,852.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at $12,342,929.25. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. raised its position in Apple by 14.1% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 13,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $400 from $260. The firm cited potential growth from a foldable iPhone and a strategic improvement in Apple’s artificial-intelligence efforts, including possible use of Nvidia’s open-source models. Could Apple stock jump 30%? This Nvidia AI bet may hold the key
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc survey data indicated consumer spending is improving ahead of Apple’s September iPhone event, supporting expectations for a strong product cycle. Reports that Apple may enter the premium foldable market also offer a potential new revenue and average-selling-price catalyst. Why Investors Should Consider Buying Apple Stock Ahead of Its September iPhone Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple reportedly developed a China-specific AI model with Alibaba’s assistance. The effort could improve regulatory access and competitiveness in China, although the market will watch whether it can offset geopolitical and platform-related challenges.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rumors of camera-equipped AirPods suggest Apple is exploring new wearable and spatial-computing products, but the reports remain unconfirmed and are unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Apple’s Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed
• Negative Sentiment: Apple disclosed that ongoing App Store antitrust disputes are hurting its services business. Separately, Germany’s competition authority said Apple will change app data-consent rules, potentially weakening its advertising-related advantages and benefiting Meta and other advertisers. Apple Says Antitrust Issues Are Hurting Services Business
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. officials are pressuring Apple not to purchase Chinese memory chips. Compliance could increase component costs, while defying the request could create regulatory and geopolitical risks. Analysts have also warned that tighter memory supply may pressure hardware margins.
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts view Apple as overvalued and point to weaker AI execution, security incidents and intense smartphone competition. Reports of widespread spyware alerts and an exploited macOS vulnerability add reputational and support risks, although Apple has issued security fixes.

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.