Apple's (AAPL) "Outperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush reaffirmed its "Outperform" rating on Apple with a $350 price target, implying roughly a 28.95% upside from the stock's prior close.
• Apple beat expectations for the latest quarter, reporting $2.84 EPS vs. $2.67 consensus and revenue of $143.76 billion (up 15.7% year‑over‑year), with strong margins and ROE.
• The company formalized a leadership transition—Tim Cook will become executive chairman and John Ternus will be CEO on Sept. 1—while Cook disclosed a planned sale of 64,949 shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 trading plan.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by research analysts at Wedbush in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 target price on the iPhone maker's stock. Wedbush's price objective indicates a potential upside of 28.95% from the stock's previous close.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Maxim Group upgraded shares of 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. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.33.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $271.41 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $259.68 and its 200-day moving average is $264.28. Apple has a one year low of $193.25 and a one year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street supportive — some analysts reaffirm bullish views and see the succession as orderly, which reduces immediate governance risk; Daniel Ives reiterated a Buy and called investor reactions “mixed” but constructive. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market tailwinds: Nasdaq/S&P futures are higher on hopes for earnings momentum, AI spending and easing geopolitics — Apple's CEO transition is being priced as a manageable event amid broader tech strength. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership continuity on product/engineering: Apple promoted Johny Srouji to a combined hardware role while elevating John Ternus to CEO — investors interpret this as a commitment to hardware execution and next‑gen devices. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Official transition details: Apple confirmed Cook will become executive chairman and Ternus will take over as CEO on Sept. 1 — a planned, board‑approved succession that limits surprise risk but shifts leadership responsibility ahead of key catalysts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Big strategic question: analysts emphasize Ternus must accelerate Apple’s AI roadmap to match peers; coverage highlights this as the defining challenge for the next era. Expect headlines and guidance around AI and product roadmaps to drive sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed sell‑side signals and modestly cautious price targets: Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Neutral rating with a $268 target (slightly below current), showing some analysts are taking a conservative stance ahead of the transition and earnings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term risk factors: unusual put activity ahead of earnings and a regulatory flashpoint in India (with a potential large fine and fast‑tracked hearing) are downside catalysts investors are monitoring into the April 30 earnings release. Read More. · 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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