Wedbush Equities Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Apple

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Stock analysts at Wedbush boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Apple in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now forecasts that the iPhone maker will earn $2.43 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.41. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.48 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Apple’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.69 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.53 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.78 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.45 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.64 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.88 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.73 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.04 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.30 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 145.09%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Apple Stock Down 0.4 %

AAPL stock opened at $222.01 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $227.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Apple by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after acquiring an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 22,870.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,302,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

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.