Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Key Points

• Apple's stock has received an "outperform" rating from Wedbush, with a price target of $270.00 suggesting a potential upside of 23.35% from its current price.
• In its latest earnings report, Apple surpassed analysts’ expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS and $94.04 billion in revenue, which is up 9.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently initiated a $100 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $270.00 price objective on the iPhone maker's stock. Wedbush's price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.35% from the stock's current price. Wedbush also issued estimates for Apple's FY2025 earnings at $7.38 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.44 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.78 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.85 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $218.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.

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