Absolute Capital Management LLC Buys 2,087 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Absolute Capital Management increased its Apple stake by 48.1% in the third quarter, buying 2,087 additional shares to hold 6,429 shares valued at approximately $2.14 million.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple, while insiders have sold 289,252 shares worth $96.3 million over the past 90 days, primarily to cover tax obligations from equity awards.
• Apple faces a mixed outlook: strong product demand and AI investments support the stock, but rising memory costs, potential margin pressure and a premium valuation near 40 times earnings create risks ahead of its earnings report.

Absolute Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 48.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,429 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Absolute Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the third quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 252,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $83,823,000 after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 55,430 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $18,459,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in Apple by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management boosted its position in Apple by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 26,361 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,591,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $1,111,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple acquired Ascension Labs, which operates as Ascend.io, gaining access to agentic artificial-intelligence talent and intellectual property. The deal supports Apple’s effort to strengthen its AI capabilities, although financial terms were not disclosed. Apple Acquires AI Firm Ascend.io Talent and Patents
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain supportive: the foldable iPhone Duo reportedly sold out quickly, orders are backed up, and Apple is positioned to benefit from strong iPhone, Mac and Services demand. Analysts including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs remain constructive, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and a $370 price target. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: The first touchscreen MacBook Pro, equipped with OLED displays and M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, expands Apple’s premium hardware lineup and could support a new product-cycle catalyst. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s earnings report is the immediate focus. Investors will look for evidence that revenue growth, Services momentum and AI investments can offset rising component costs and potentially slower holiday growth. Options activity suggests substantial volatility around the release. Apple November 2 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related demand has sharply increased flash-memory prices, raising concerns that Apple’s gross margin will come under pressure. Qualcomm also indicated that Apple-related revenue is declining faster than previously expected, reinforcing concerns about the pace of future iPhone growth. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 40 times earnings and near its yearly high, Apple has limited room for an earnings or guidance disappointment. A senior vice president’s repeated stock sales and a South Korean fine related to app-market practices add modest additional caution. Apple Insider Selling

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $344.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.42 and a 12 month high of $351.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. China Renaissance lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.49.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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