Bank of America Raises Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $265.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Bank of America from $253.00 to $265.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.29% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AAPL. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Apple from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Apple from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $241.68 and a 200-day moving average of $230.87. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth about $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.