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

Key Points

• DA Davidson reiterated its “Neutral” rating on Apple and maintained a $270 price target, implying approximately 11% downside from the reported $303.59 share price.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year to $109.42 billion and EPS of $2.02, exceeding analyst expectations. The stock nevertheless has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $331.60.
• Investors face risks from supply constraints, rising memory costs, weaker-than-expected services and China performance, and a fiscal fourth-quarter revenue outlook below consensus.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $270.00 target price on the iPhone maker's stock. DA Davidson's target price would suggest a potential downside of 11.06% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.60.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $29.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $303.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 48,219,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,558,230. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $309.51 and a 200-day moving average of $281.25. Apple has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month high of $344.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares during the last quarter. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% year over year, while diluted EPS rose 29% to $2.02—beating consensus estimates. iPhone revenue jumped 22% to $54.3 billion and Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted record installed-base levels, strong product demand and continued opportunities to use Apple Intelligence and a hybrid AI strategy to support device sales and potentially expand iCloud monetization. Apple hybrid AI strategy
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400 and assigned a Buy rating. Other analysts, including Goldman Sachs, Citi and Baird, maintained bullish views, citing premium hardware pricing, AI catalysts and long-term services growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share. Investors are also assessing a new U.S. hardware-leasing program with Klarna, which could encourage faster upgrades but may affect how customers finance purchases.
• Neutral Sentiment: Tim Cook’s final earnings call before his planned September departure adds a leadership-transition consideration, although the company’s operating results remained strong.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple forecast fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion, below the roughly $114.3 billion analyst consensus. The outlook was pressured by “very significant” supply constraints and an expected worsening impact from memory shortages. Apple supply constraints outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Cook described soaring memory prices as a “100-year flood.” Higher DRAM and other component costs threaten margins, while Apple is evaluating alternatives—including possible pricing changes—and has warned that shortages could affect iPhones, Macs and iPads.
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat benefited materially from tariff refunds, including approximately $0.11 per share and a roughly two-percentage-point gross-margin benefit. Investors may view that support as temporary, with one analysis attributing most of the EPS surprise to the refunds.
• Negative Sentiment: Services revenue reached a record $30.7 billion but missed expectations, while China performance was weaker than hoped. Slower services growth, supply-chain risks and a premium valuation intensified the sell-the-news reaction.

About Apple

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.