Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 1.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $334.68 and last traded at $333.26. Approximately 62,619,631 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 24% from the average daily volume of 50,504,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.50.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees “strong cycle ahead”
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.43.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $303.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after buying an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.