CLSA Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at CLSA from $265.00 to $330.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. CLSA’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.56% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Argus set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.09.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $280.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $265.56 and a 200-day moving average of $233.58.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.