Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Raised to Strong-Buy at Seaport Res Ptn

Key Points

• Apple has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Seaport Res Ptn, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• Multiple firms have increased their price targets for Apple, with predictions ranging from $240.00 to $290.00, indicating a generally optimistic outlook.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for its last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 9.6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

AAPL has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.51.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $257.13 on Wednesday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $232.20 and its 200-day moving average is $214.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month 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, topping 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Breakwater Investment Management lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 1,612 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 317,506 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $80,847,000 after acquiring an additional 39,743 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.8% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 90,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,917,000 after acquiring an additional 4,094 shares during the last quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC now owns 11,905 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,031,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 2.1% during the third quarter. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. now owns 38,924 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,911,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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