Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded up 1.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $296.59 and last traded at $294.38. Approximately 49,883,612 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 50,549,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.36.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS says iPhone demand is improving in several key markets, and other commentary points to Apple heading into a stronger second half, which supports sentiment around the stock. Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone Demand Is Improving, But AI Isn’t the Reason Why
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to get support from Wall Street-friendly narratives, including renewed AI expansion plans, bullish analyst coverage, and mentions of the stock as a top growth name. Apple’s AI Expansion Aims to Boost Services Momentum: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: The Supreme Court agreed to hear Apple’s appeal in the Epic Games case, which gives Apple a chance to challenge a lower-court contempt ruling tied to App Store payment rules. Russia warns Apple of $52 million fine over alleged bias against local apps
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and its partners remain in focus after multiple cybersecurity reports, including a breach at Tata Electronics and claims that Apple’s Hide My Email feature may expose real addresses. These headlines add reputational risk, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Apple’s Hide My Email feature has a bug that’s been exposing real email addresses, researcher claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple is exploring Chinese memory supply to ease component shortages could help margins if approved, but the move also highlights how severe the memory crunch has become and keeps geopolitical risk in view. Could Apple’s China Play Be the Answer to Its Memory Pressure Problem?
• Negative Sentiment: Apple has raised prices on Macs and iPads because of higher memory costs, raising concerns that margin pressure and weaker unit demand could continue if the memory shortage persists. Apple Is Raising Prices Due to Higher Memory Costs. Is the Stock in Trouble?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with the U.K. CMA and Russia both targeting Apple over app-store fees and local-app treatment, which could pressure future services revenue and profitability. UK targets Apple, Google app store fees for developers

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $293.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.