Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 4% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares shot up 4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $328.73 and last traded at $327.50. Approximately 60,670,670 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 50,408,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.86.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence received regulatory approval in China, clearing the way for a major AI rollout with local partners Alibaba and Baidu. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is considering chip acquisitions suggest it wants to strengthen its AI server capabilities and close the gap in AI infrastructure. Apple chasing AI chip company deals, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s expanded relationship with Broadcom is reinforcing confidence in its supply chain and custom silicon strategy. Apple Plans to Spend $30 Billion in a Deal With Broadcom (AVGO) – Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI keeps the company in the headlines and could influence the broader AI ecosystem, but the stock impact is less certain. Apple’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Could Ripple Across the AI Ecosystem And Put the AI Bubble to the Test
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. lawmakers are pushing to block Apple from sourcing memory chips from China’s CXMT, which could complicate Apple’s supply chain. Apple (AAPL) Faces Lawmaker Push To Block CXMT Memory Chip Sourcing

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.43.

Apple Stock Up 1.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.80 and a 200 day moving average of $276.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.30, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm 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 was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Apple by 890.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.