Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Jefferies Financial Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “moderate sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AAPL. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.47.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $262.77 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $242.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.74. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $265.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Capstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Beddow Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,609 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,701,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apple

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.