Wedbush Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $270.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock’s current price. Wedbush also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2025 earnings at $7.38 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.44 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.78 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.85 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

Apple Trading Up 4.2%

AAPL opened at $229.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.16. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. 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.