Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 4.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price shot up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after KGI Securities upgraded the stock to an outperform rating. KGI Securities now has a $306.00 price target on the stock. Apple traded as high as $270.49 and last traded at $270.0480. 73,462,659 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 52,093,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.48.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CLSA increased their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.41.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone 17 demand drove better-than-expected Q1 results and margin expansion, supporting upgrades and a more bullish outlook for revenue and profitability. The iPhone 17 Changed Everything For Apple – See China (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Big banks reiterated bullish calls (Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) citing continued iPhone 17 strength — analyst support is lifting sentiment and contributed to price-target increases. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Bullish on Apple Inc. (AAPL) on Strong iPhone 17 Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets and upgraded Apple after the quarter, adding buy-side momentum and helping push the stock higher. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $315.00
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI launched a Codex coding-assistant app for Apple computers, highlighting tighter AI app integration in the Mac ecosystem and potential demand/support for Mac hardware and services. OpenAI Unveils Codex App for Use with Apple (AAPL) Computers
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Apple acquired Israeli AI/audio startup Q.ai (≈$2B) strengthens the company’s AI content/capability pipeline and supports the AI narrative. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Acquires Israeli Startup Q.ai For Approximately $2 Billion: Report
• Neutral Sentiment: T. Rowe Price launched an active Innovation Leaders ETF that lists Apple as a core holding — potential incremental passive/active inflows but not immediate earnings impact. Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft Anchor T. Rowe Price’s New Active ETF Targeting Innovators
• Neutral Sentiment: India’s policy allowing foreign-funded equipment for contract manufacturers is a structural win for Apple’s India build-out and long-term cost/scale — supports supply diversification. India hands Apple a win by letting foreign firms fund equipment for manufacturers
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed are effectively zero/erroneous and aren’t influencing the move; no clear short-squeeze signal from this data. (Source: short-interest entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Supply risk: TSMC’s capacity shift toward AI chips (Nvidia demand) could squeeze Apple’s wafer allocations and exacerbate chip constraints, a risk to near-term production and inventory. Nvidia’s AI Takeover Leaves Apple Fighting For Supply
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and margin pressure: reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that rising AI-driven parts demand could lift component costs create medium-term execution and margin risks. Apple Loses More AI Researchers to Meta and Google The AI Boom Is Coming for Apple’s Profit Margins

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. increased its stake in Apple by 13.2% during the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.43.

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. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

About Apple

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.