Bank of America Reaffirms Buy Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Bank of America in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $370.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.22% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $304.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $338.80.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $3.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $335.69. 16,935,586 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,602,688. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. Apple has a 12-month low of $236.65 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $319.40 and a 200 day moving average of $293.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,194 shares of company stock worth $2,245,142 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Prospect Hill Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $168,646,000. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 66,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,305,000 after acquiring an additional 26,418 shares during the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Cambridge Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 21.3% in the first quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 13,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a bullish view and expects Apple to reach a new all-time high over the next 12 months. BofA also maintained a Buy rating, adding support to the stock’s recent momentum. Wall Street analyst sets Apple stock price target for 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: Market-share gains and iPhone demand: Fresh smartphone data indicates Apple captured a record share of a declining global market, while carrier promotions are helping support iPhone 18 Pro sales. The launch of the premium foldable iPhone Duo also provides a potential new upgrade cycle and revenue opportunity. What’s Going On With Apple Stock Today?
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure opportunity: Reports that Apple is developing M8 Ultra-powered servers for potential 2029 deployment, possibly using NVIDIA networking technology, suggest a push into enterprise AI and greater control of Private Cloud Compute costs. The strategy could create a new hardware business and help protect Services margins over time. Apple Is Quietly Building an AI Advantage Few Expected
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory and competitive developments: Apple agreed to make European app-tracking consent screens less prominent following an antitrust review. Separately, the UK’s disputed data-access demand and a U.S. investigation into alleged audio-patent violations remain potential sources of uncertainty, although their financial impact is not yet clear. Apple will let EU apps use less alarming tracking consent screens
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks: A Seeking Alpha contributor downgraded the stock, while reports of lukewarm iPhone 18 Pro preorders and restrictions around the new Siri AI features raise questions about near-term demand and Apple’s ability to monetize its AI investments. At roughly 38 times earnings, the stock has limited room for disappointing results. Apple: Reality Check Coming, But I’m Not Selling

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.