Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 3.6% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were up 3.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $326.74 and last traded at $326.57. 69,416,951 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 50,027,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $315.34.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: iPhone Duo creates a potential new growth cycle. Apple’s $1,999 foldable iPhone, scheduled to arrive October 23, could drive upgrades, deepen ecosystem engagement and add a high-margin premium product category. Some analysts believe foldables could eventually account for 10% to 20% of iPhone revenue. How Wall Street viewed Apple’s foldable iPhone
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see renewed hardware momentum. Alongside the Duo, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Apple Watch models, AirPods 5 and expanded Siri AI features. TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating with a $400 target, supporting the bullish reaction. TD Cowen reiterates Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Carrier promotions could reduce sticker-price resistance. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are offering installment and trade-in incentives for the expensive Duo, potentially broadening access without an immediate industrywide price war. Wireless carrier promotions
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided. Bank of America retained a Buy rating but lowered its price target to $370, while Rosenblatt kept a Neutral rating and $303 target. The debate centers on Duo demand, supply constraints, valuation and the durability of the upgrade cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains the main risk. Apple raised iPhone Pro prices by $100, but memory and other component costs are rising rapidly. Management has already guided to lower gross margins, raising concerns that pricing may not fully offset higher costs. Apple margin pressure from memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and competition limit upside. Apple trades near the upper end of its historical earnings multiple, while Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung remain strong competitors in China and the foldable market.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a modest cautionary signal. SVP Jennifer Newstead sold approximately $456,000 of stock, reducing her direct holdings by about 4%, although she retains a substantial position.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.91.

Apple Stock Up 1.7%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $318.20 and a 200 day moving average of $292.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,310 shares of company stock valued at $2,279,378. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Evansbrook LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. boosted its position in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company’s ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.