Apple’s (AAPL) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James Financial

Posted by Trevor Kearing on Jan 4th, 2026

Raymond James Financial reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Melius Research set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.92.

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Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $271.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $273.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly naming Apple as a long‑term rival in AI underscores investor interest in Apple’s AI roadmap and ecosystem positioning — a potential tailwind for Services and device differentiation. Why Sam Altman Sees Apple (AAPL) as the Real Rival to ChatGPT
Positive Sentiment: Rumors that the AirPods Pro 3 could gain infrared cameras suggest faster hardware refreshes and new features for wearables — a boost to Apple’s product-cycle narrative and Services monetization potential. Apple’s (AAPL) AirPods Pro 3 May Soon Get Infrared Cameras
Positive Sentiment: Earnings previews point to continued margin expansion and a projected high‑single‑digit rise in profitability for the upcoming quarter — supportive of near‑term earnings expectations. Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect
Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance update — Apple appointed Ben Borders as Principal Accounting Officer. Routine leadership changes can slightly reassure on controls but are unlikely to move valuation materially. Apple appoints Ben Borders as principal accounting officer
Neutral Sentiment: General market commentary and search interest pieces (e.g., Benzinga lists) show continued retail attention on AAPL but don’t imply immediate fundamental change. EXCLUSIVE: December’s 12 Most-Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro – Where Do Tesla, Micron, Apple Stock Rank
Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple has cut Vision Pro production and pulled back marketing after weaker‑than‑expected demand. That reduces near‑term hardware revenue upside and raises questions on the timing of returns from spatial‑computing investments. Apple cuts Vision Pro production and marketing after weak sales
Negative Sentiment: Raymond James resumed coverage but moved to a market‑perform (neutral) rating, explicitly flagging limited upside given current valuation — a sentiment that can temper momentum and institutional buying. Raymond James resumes Apple coverage, flags limited upside at current valuation
Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces and a multi‑factor analysis (Forbes and others) suggesting reduced exposure highlight valuation risk — investors may trim positions if they believe upside is capped relative to premium multiples. Is It Time To Reduce Exposure To Apple Stock?

Apple Company Profile

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Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.