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

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.76.

Apple Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $226.78. 32,829,115 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,544,094. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.34. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.