USA Financial Formulas Buys 3,336 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• USA Financial Formulas purchased 3,336 Apple shares during the third quarter, establishing a position valued at approximately $1.11 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Apple’s outlook includes strong product and services demand, AI-related acquisitions, and new hardware initiatives such as its first touchscreen MacBook Pro. However, rising flash-memory costs could pressure margins, while the upcoming earnings report may bring elevated volatility.
• Apple trades near its yearly high at roughly 39.5 times earnings. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $340.49 price target, although some insiders recently sold shares to cover tax obligations and Loop Capital downgraded the stock to “Hold.”

USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,336 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,111,000.

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

Key Apple News

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. The trade was a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. BTIG Research began coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $330.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.49.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $344.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $333.04 and a 200-day moving average of $296.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $351.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Company Profile

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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