StockNews.com Downgrades Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Hold

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $226.78. The stock had a trading volume of 32,829,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,544,094. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $222.56 and its 200 day moving average is $203.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.