Apple’s (AAPL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Bank of America in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $370.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.22% from the company’s previous close.

AAPL has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $338.80.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $3.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $335.69. 16,935,586 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,602,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.08. Apple has a 12-month low of $236.65 and a 12-month high of $344.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $319.40 and a 200-day moving average of $293.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.23, for a total transaction of $456,176.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 34,352 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,484.96. This trade represents a 4.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,194 shares of company stock worth $2,245,142. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,443,242,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 75,000,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $20,389,750,000 after buying an additional 2,725,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a bullish view and expects Apple to reach a new all-time high over the next 12 months. BofA also maintained a Buy rating, adding support to the stock’s recent momentum. Wall Street analyst sets Apple stock price target for 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: Market-share gains and iPhone demand: Fresh smartphone data indicates Apple captured a record share of a declining global market, while carrier promotions are helping support iPhone 18 Pro sales. The launch of the premium foldable iPhone Duo also provides a potential new upgrade cycle and revenue opportunity. What’s Going On With Apple Stock Today?
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure opportunity: Reports that Apple is developing M8 Ultra-powered servers for potential 2029 deployment, possibly using NVIDIA networking technology, suggest a push into enterprise AI and greater control of Private Cloud Compute costs. The strategy could create a new hardware business and help protect Services margins over time. Apple Is Quietly Building an AI Advantage Few Expected
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory and competitive developments: Apple agreed to make European app-tracking consent screens less prominent following an antitrust review. Separately, the UK’s disputed data-access demand and a U.S. investigation into alleged audio-patent violations remain potential sources of uncertainty, although their financial impact is not yet clear. Apple will let EU apps use less alarming tracking consent screens
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks: A Seeking Alpha contributor downgraded the stock, while reports of lukewarm iPhone 18 Pro preorders and restrictions around the new Siri AI features raise questions about near-term demand and Apple’s ability to monetize its AI investments. At roughly 38 times earnings, the stock has limited room for disappointing results. Apple: Reality Check Coming, But I’m Not Selling

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its principal products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware products.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple Pay and iCloud. These services provide digital content, payments, cloud storage and subscription offerings across the company’s ecosystem of devices.

Founded in 1976, Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and serves consumers, businesses, educational institutions and government customers worldwide.