Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.38% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Apple Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $230.03 on Wednesday. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.08 and a 200 day moving average of $212.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.