Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $343.74 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly positive: Apple has a “Moderate Buy” consensus among 43 firms, with 26 buy or strong-buy ratings, 13 holds and 4 sells. The average 12-month price target is $343.74.
• Apple beat quarterly expectations: Earnings were $2.10 per share versus a $1.99 consensus, while revenue reached $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year.
• Outlook has both opportunities and risks: Apple Intelligence cleared a regulatory step for use on tablets and laptops in China, while restrained AI spending may support cash generation but raises competitiveness questions. The article also flags potential security, supplier, and valuation concerns.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-three research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $343.74.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.75, for a total transaction of $781,474.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,771,522.75. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,051,831.95. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 4.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $182,897,769,000 after buying an additional 28,321,085 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth about $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Apple by 23.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $18,547,637,000 after purchasing an additional 13,780,080 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many Big Tech peers and recently reached record territory, with investors appearing to favor its restrained AI infrastructure spending compared with peers’ heavy investment. That approach may help preserve cash and margins, though it also raises questions about its AI competitiveness. Apple Is Holding Strong While Big Tech Sells Off. Is It Next?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence cleared a regulatory step for use on tablets and laptops in China, potentially expanding the service’s reach in a key market. Apple Intelligence registers with Chinese regulator
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly holding capital spending steady while rivals accelerate AI infrastructure investment. This could support cash generation, but investors may also question whether the company is investing enough to keep pace in AI. Apple holds capex steady as peers accelerate AI infrastructure buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Binance warned that an iOS vulnerability could allow malicious apps to access data from other apps, potentially exposing crypto-wallet keys and credentials. Uncertainty over affected versions and whether updates resolve the flaw could create security and reputational concerns. Binance warns iOS flaw could expose crypto wallet keys
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of worker deaths at an Indian supplier and an ensuing investigation raise potential supply-chain, operational and reputational risks as Apple expands manufacturing in India. Apple faces major supplier investigation after 3 worker deaths
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and a reported memory-cost squeeze could pressure expectations. KeyCorp also cut its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $8.34 from $9.08 and maintains an Underweight rating with a $250 price target, well below the consensus forecast cited in the report. Apple Is Above $5 Trillion After Its First-Ever Close Above $350

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $348.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $337.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. Apple has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $355.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.04%.

About Apple

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple's devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.

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