Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation, twenty-two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $297.5833.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Apple Stock Down 0.8%

AAPL opened at $260.29 on Friday. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product blitz strengthens long-term revenue/AI thesis — Apple unveiled the low‑cost MacBook Neo ($599), iPhone 17e and AI-focused Macs, which analysts say could kickstart an AI-driven upgrade cycle and broaden Apple’s addressable market (students/price‑sensitive buyers). This supports bullish price targets and the idea of a hardware-led revenue catalyst. Apple debuts $599 MacBook Neo to challenge Chromebooks, Windows PCs
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst support — Wedbush and other brokers reiterated high targets (e.g., $350) and framed the new lineup as validation of Apple’s AI hardware strategy, giving investors confidence in multi‑quarter upside if an upgrade cycle materializes. Apple’s AI Hardware Blitz Could Send The Stock 33% Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Addressable‑market lift from low‑price models — Analysts (e.g., Gene Munster) argue the MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e could incrementally boost revenues and help Apple gain share in education/entry segments. Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo May Boost Revenue By 0.5%
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — some firms nudged targets or maintained ratings (Rosenblatt raised to $268, Barclays updated targets), producing no clear consensus; investors must decide whether upgrades justify current valuation multiples. Benzinga (analyst updates)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest/market data noise — published short‑interest figures in the feed are clearly faulty (zeros/NaN), so they’re not a reliable driver of today’s move.
• Negative Sentiment: Market‑wide volatility & geopolitical risk — broader tech weakness tied to Iran tensions and risk‑off flows is pressuring high‑beta mega caps, contributing to Apple’s pullback despite product news. Magnificent 7 Stock Report: Apple Leads, NVIDIA Fades, Microsoft Crashes
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about low‑end push and technicals — some commentary frames the cheap‑product strategy as a sign of weaker demand or margin pressure, and technical analysts flagged bearish crossovers that could spur further selling if confirmed. Apple stock flashes ‘worst bearish cross’

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.