Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Apple shares rose 2% on Friday, trading near $293 after hitting an intraday high of $294.76, with volume running above average.
• Wedbush turned notably bullish, lifting its price target to $400 and saying AI features and monetization could drive Apple’s next growth phase. Other firms also remain mostly positive, with the consensus rating still at Moderate Buy.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share. The company additionally faces mixed headlines, including a $250 million Siri settlement and renewed antitrust scrutiny over the App Store.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shot up 2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $294.76 and last traded at $293.2520. 50,414,789 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 47,344,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.44.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised Apple’s price target to $400 and kept an Outperform rating, saying AI features and monetization could drive a new growth phase. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Intel reportedly reached a preliminary chip-manufacturing deal, which could support Apple’s device supply chain and strengthen its U.S. production footprint. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple also agreed to a $250 million settlement over Siri AI advertising claims, which resolves a legal overhang but highlights execution risk around its AI messaging. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple faces renewed antitrust scrutiny from Rave in multiple countries over App Store removal, adding another legal issue investors may watch. Rave Sues Apple in Five Countries Over App Store Removal

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business's 50 day moving average price is $261.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% in 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 period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in 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 period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.8% in 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 during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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