Rothschild & Co Redburn Upgrades Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to “Strong-Buy”

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $305.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $223.78 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,107 shares in the company, valued at $12,342,929.25. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

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

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $400 from $260. The firm cited potential growth from a foldable iPhone and a strategic improvement in Apple’s artificial-intelligence efforts, including possible use of Nvidia’s open-source models. Could Apple stock jump 30%? This Nvidia AI bet may hold the key
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc survey data indicated consumer spending is improving ahead of Apple’s September iPhone event, supporting expectations for a strong product cycle. Reports that Apple may enter the premium foldable market also offer a potential new revenue and average-selling-price catalyst. Why Investors Should Consider Buying Apple Stock Ahead of Its September iPhone Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple reportedly developed a China-specific AI model with Alibaba’s assistance. The effort could improve regulatory access and competitiveness in China, although the market will watch whether it can offset geopolitical and platform-related challenges.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rumors of camera-equipped AirPods suggest Apple is exploring new wearable and spatial-computing products, but the reports remain unconfirmed and are unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Apple’s Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed
• Negative Sentiment: Apple disclosed that ongoing App Store antitrust disputes are hurting its services business. Separately, Germany’s competition authority said Apple will change app data-consent rules, potentially weakening its advertising-related advantages and benefiting Meta and other advertisers. Apple Says Antitrust Issues Are Hurting Services Business
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. officials are pressuring Apple not to purchase Chinese memory chips. Compliance could increase component costs, while defying the request could create regulatory and geopolitical risks. Analysts have also warned that tighter memory supply may pressure hardware margins.
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts view Apple as overvalued and point to weaker AI execution, security incidents and intense smartphone competition. Reports of widespread spyware alerts and an exploited macOS vulnerability add reputational and support risks, although Apple has issued security fixes.

Apple Company Profile

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.