Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $250.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its price target for Apple from $240.00 to $250.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.30% from the company's previous close, with a current "buy" rating.
• During its latest earnings report, Apple beat analysts' estimates by reporting $1.57 earnings per share on revenue of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• Apple announced a $100 billion stock buyback plan, signaling the company's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Bank of America from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the iPhone maker's stock. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.30% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

Apple Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

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

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.

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