JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $225.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 22.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on AAPL. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $172.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Arcus Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,181 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.6% in the third quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 15,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 900.1% during the 3rd quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC now owns 295,556 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $50,602,000 after acquiring an additional 266,003 shares during the period. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. now owns 36,478 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,245,000 after acquiring an additional 3,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,486 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.