Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Moved Down to "Sell" by DZ Bank

Key Points

• DZ Bank downgraded Apple from “hold” to “sell” and set a $300 price target, implying 9.61% downside from the stock’s current price.
• Apple’s latest quarter beat estimates, with revenue rising 11.7% year over year to $114.48 billion and earnings per share of $2.10. However, investors face concerns about lower holiday-quarter margins, higher memory costs, and softer signals in China and services.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive despite the downgrade: MarketBeat reports an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $343.51 average target price.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at DZ Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $300.00 price objective on the iPhone maker's stock. DZ Bank's target price would suggest a potential downside of 9.61% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $350.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Moffett Nathanson set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $343.51.

Apple Trading Down 1.9%

AAPL stock opened at $331.90 on Wednesday. Apple has a 52 week low of $243.42 and a 52 week high of $351.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $334.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 128.88%. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.36, for a total transaction of $823,720.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,396 shares in the company, valued at $11,123,490.56. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $182,897,769,000 after purchasing an additional 28,321,085 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Apple by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year, and EPS of $2.10, beating analyst estimates. Strong iPhone demand—iPhone revenue rose 17.5%—and Mac sales helped drive the results. Apple Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, iPhone Drives Top-Line Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating, arguing that investors should look beyond near-term margin pressure to Apple’s longer-term opportunity. Buy Apple Stock After Earnings, Says Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is Apple’s forecast for a 45%–46% gross margin in the holiday quarter, below the recent quarter’s 47.9%. Management cited sharply higher memory-chip costs and spending tied to Siri AI; investors worry these expenses will limit profit growth even with strong sales. Apple Shares Slide as Higher Memory Costs Fuel Margin Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also saw softer signals beneath the headline beat: services growth is expected to slow, China revenue missed expectations, and higher component costs are being accompanied by increased inventory and supplier commitments. The stock’s premium valuation may make it more vulnerable if growth or margins disappoint. Apple Growth, Margins Likely Face Pressure in 2027, UBS Says

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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