Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Outperform Rating at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has a $330.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AAPL. DZ Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.62.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $246.70 on Tuesday. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is integrating Google’s Gemini into Siri, which should materially improve Apple’s voice/AI capabilities and enhance product competitiveness. With Gemini Powering Apple’s Siri, Alphabet Could Soon Be the Undisputed AI Leader
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore reiterated an Outperform/Buy stance with a $330 price target, highlighting upside into Apple’s upcoming earnings and the iPhone 17 cycle. Apple Stock (AAPL) Remains a Top Pick for Evercore Ahead of Q1 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Citi projects Apple will ship millions of $2,000 foldable iPhones this year, supporting potential upside in unit growth and higher ASPs if production scales. Apple will ship millions of $2,000 foldable iPhones this year: Citi
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman and other brokers are framing recent weakness as a buying opportunity ahead of January 29 earnings, citing strong iPhone revenue forecasts. ‘Buy the Dip,’ Says Goldman as Apple Pulls Back on Near-Term Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm-level notes and letters point to Apple’s Q4 rebound and improved China smartphone share, which support fundamentals but are already priced into some analyst models. Apple (AAPL) Continued to Rebound in Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: tech stocks led a selloff after renewed Trump rhetoric around Greenland/tariffs, hitting Apple with broad Magnificent Seven weakness despite company-specific positives. America’s Biggest Tech Stocks Lead Tuesday’s Selloff as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Rattles Markets
• Negative Sentiment: Despite analyst upgrades, traders sold AAPL — a disconnect highlighted by coverage noting a near‑3% intraday slide amid risk-off positioning. Apple stock tumbles nearly 3% despite analyst upgrade: here’s why
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory watch: an important antitrust date in India (Jan. 27) adds near‑term uncertainty that could affect services and distribution in a key market. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 27
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary (e.g., 24/7 Wall St.) warns Apple could underperform peers this year, which may deepen sentiment-driven selling if momentum fades. This Magnificent 7 Stock Will Plunge This Year

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.