Raymond James Issues Positive Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Raymond James to $250.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 26.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.26.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $6.10 on Friday, hitting $197.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,897,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,914,895. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.