Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays has increased its price target for Apple (AAPL) from $173.00 to $180.00, indicating a potential downside of 14.68% from the stock's previous close, while maintaining an "underweight" rating.
• Apple reported strong earnings, with $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter and revenue of $94.04 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.
• The company's Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program allowing Apple to repurchase up to $100 billion in outstanding shares, suggesting the board believes the shares are undervalued.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $173.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the iPhone maker's stock. Barclays's target price points to a potential downside of 11.48% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $203.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 74,983,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,129,035. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.16. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $205.37 and a 200 day moving average of $213.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 3.9% in the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.