Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for Apple Q2 Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2027 earnings estimates for shares of Apple in a research note issued on Wednesday, June 11th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now expects that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $2.03 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.06. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2027 earnings at $8.66 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $196.45 on Friday. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its position in Apple by 3,368.2% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Apple by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $192,700,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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.