Apple's (AAPL) "Neutral" Rating Reaffirmed at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson reaffirmed a "Neutral" rating on Apple with a $270 price target, implying about a 4.3% downside from Friday's price.
• Apple beat the quarter with $2.01 EPS (vs. $1.92 est.) and $111.18B revenue, issued stronger-than-expected June-quarter revenue guidance and announced roughly a $100B buyback plus a dividend raise.
• Overall analyst consensus is mildly bullish — the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $303.49, well above DA Davidson's target.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $270.00 price target on the iPhone maker's stock. DA Davidson's target price suggests a potential downside of 4.30% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Maxim Group raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, KGI Securities raised shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve 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 price target of $303.49.

Apple Stock Up 4.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $282.12 on Friday. Apple has a 12 month low of $193.25 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $260.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 dated 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 directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barnett & Company Inc. raised its position in Apple by 14.6% in the first quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 4,490 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC raised its position in Apple by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 105,058 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,663,000 after purchasing an additional 20,573 shares during the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,234 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,480,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. AlpenGlobal Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $1,514,000. Finally, Corrado Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 34.2% during the first quarter. Corrado Advisors LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Double-beat on the quarter — Apple reported $111.18B revenue and $2.01 EPS, topping estimates and signaling broad demand (iPhone, Mac, Services). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Upside guidance — management gave June-quarter (fiscal Q3) revenue growth well above Street expectations (mid-teens vs. low‑teens/low single digits expected), which lifted sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Apple announced a sizable buyback expansion (~$100B added) and a dividend raise, supporting EPS accretion and investor demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: China strength — Greater China revenue jumped sharply (~28% YoY), removing a recent regional overhang and improving the growth outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed — some firms hiked targets and turned bullish (Monness to $335), while others kept neutral/hold ratings; market now pricing differing upside scenarios. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Memory‑cost and supply warnings — CEO flagged intensifying memory shortages and higher RAM costs that could pressure margins and force price or supplier-strategy changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risks — Apple is in an escalating antitrust dispute in India, which could lead to fines or operational constraints in a key market. Read More.

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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