Wedbush Reiterates Outperform Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Wedbush has reaffirmed its outperform rating for Apple with a price target of $270.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.5% from its current stock price.
• Apple recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with $94.04 billion in revenue and $1.57 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Out of various analysts' ratings, Apple holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by investment analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $270.00 price objective on the iPhone maker's stock. Wedbush's target price indicates a potential upside of 13.50% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.99.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $219.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.35. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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