Apple's Stock Rating Downgraded to Hold

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has received a downgrade from StockNews.com, with analysts changing their rating from "buy" to "hold" in a recent report issued on Friday.

Following this downgrade, various other equity analysts have also shared their insights regarding Apple’s stock performance. For instance, JPMorgan Chase & Co. maintained an "overweight" rating and set a target price of $265.00 for Apple on September 10. Similarly, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a target price of $250.00 in their report dated October 1. Melius Research reiterated a "buy" rating with a targeted price of $265.00 on August 27. On the other hand, UBS Group issued a "hold" rating with a price target of $236.00 on October 16, while Piper Sandler maintained a "neutral" rating, setting a target price of $225.00 on October 9.

Currently, two analysts have issued a sell rating, twelve maintain a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating, and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The current consensus from MarketBeat indicates an average rating of "Moderate Buy" alongside an average target price of approximately $236.23.

Current Trading Activity

As of Friday, Apple shares were down by 1.3%, trading at $222.91. There were 65,245,321 shares exchanged, which exceeds the average volume of 59,395,426. Apple's financial metrics show a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95, and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has experienced a one-year low of $164.07 and a high of $237.49. With a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, the company’s PE ratio is 33.93 while the P/E/G ratio stands at 2.45, and it has a beta of 1.24. The 50-day moving average price for the stock rests at $227.18, while the 200-day moving average is at $212.03.

Apple reported its quarterly earnings on October 31, where it announced earnings of $1.64 per share, surpassing the expected $1.49 by $0.15. The company achieved a net margin of 26.44% with a return on equity of 147.15%. Their revenue for the quarter reached $94.93 billion, compared to the forecast of $94.52 billion. This reflects a 6.1% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year, and analysts predict an EPS of 6.6 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions

In recent news regarding insider trading, Chris Kondo, an Apple insider, sold 5,178 shares on August 9 for an average sale price of $216.50, totaling $1,121,037. Following this transaction, Kondo owns 24,125 shares valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. Additionally, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares on October 4 at an average price of $226.52, amounting to around $13.43 million. Maestri now holds 107,788 shares valued at about $24,416,137.76.

Overall, in the past 90 days, insiders sold a cumulative total of 517,924 shares worth around $114,786,399, while insiders currently own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors' Activity

Recent activity has also been noted among institutional investors. For example, International Assets Investment Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter, now owning shares worth approximately $219.83 billion. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised their position by 5.5%, and Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased their stake by 6.7%. Other notable increases include Capital International Investors with a 7.1% uptick and American Century Companies Inc. with a 3.2% rise in their stakes.

It's noteworthy that institutional investors and hedge funds hold around 60.41% of Apple’s stock.

About Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a range of products globally including smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and various accessories. Its prominent products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPads, and wearables such as AirPods, Apple Watch, and more.

Apple, Stock, Investment