Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) traded down 1.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $261.27 and last traded at $263.40. 42,777,739 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 46,783,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.43.
Trending Headlines about Apple
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on AAPL to $325, citing stronger iPhone and Services momentum and favorable FX assumptions, supporting a higher valuation and acting as a direct buy‑side catalyst. Bank of America Increases Apple Price Target
- Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s record profit and bullish guidance on AI chip demand reinforce the AI tailwind for Apple silicon and data‑center partners, easing concerns about chip supply and implying upside to Apple’s AI roadmap and device performance. AI demand drives chipmaker TSMC's net profit to fresh record
- Positive Sentiment: Prominent TV‑market commentary from Jim Cramer reiterated bullishness on Apple (saying “Apple never really went anywhere”), which can help stabilize buyer interest amid broader tech selling. Jim Cramer Reveals Why Apple (AAPL) Stock is Worth it
- Positive Sentiment: Unusually high call‑option volume (over 1M calls traded recently) signals speculative bullish positioning that can amplify rebounds if sentiment turns. (Options flow reported 4/15).
- Neutral Sentiment: Apple is accelerating internal AI work — The company is training Siri programmers on AI coding tools, which is supportive for longer‑term product/AI strategy but is an execution story rather than an immediate revenue driver. Apple Pushes Siri Programmers to Adopt AI Coding Tools
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst model updates: KeyCorp and others have nudged EPS estimates higher for upcoming quarters — a supportive signal for fundamentals but already partly priced in. (Estimates reported earlier this month.)
- Negative Sentiment: Broad Magnificent 7/tech selling knocked Apple lower as sector rotation and algorithmic flows weighed on large cap growth names today. Tech stocks today: Tesla, Apple lead 'Magnificent 7' stocks lower
- Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory risk: a lawsuit alleging Apple Pay enabled rapid gambling transactions has resurfaced questions about payment controls and potential damages/liabilities. This is a watchpoint for investors. Apple Lawsuit Puts Apple Pay Controls And Services Valuation In Focus
- Negative Sentiment: Apple announced closures of three retail locations (including its first unionized store), which created near‑term PR and labor headlines; likely immaterial to long‑term fundamentals but can dent sentiment. Apple closing 3 stores, including its first-ever unionized location
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.37.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
Apple Stock Down 1.1%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $260.12 and a 200 day moving average of $263.94.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Apple
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Apple
(
Get Free Report)
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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