Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their overweight rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $315.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Apple Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $251.49 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.81 and a 200 day moving average of $262.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given 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, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Apple by 98,917.0% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,106,000 after buying an additional 57,898,088 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. trade tribunal ruled Apple’s latest Apple Watch models do not infringe Masimo’s patents, avoiding an immediate import ban and preserving a key wearables revenue stream. Apple Watch ruling
• Positive Sentiment: WWDC set for June 8–12 with teasers for “AI advancements,” raising expectations for software and services announcements that could boost monetization (Siri/AI features, developer ecosystem). WWDC date and AI tease
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple will add paid search ads to Apple Maps this summer point to an incremental services revenue stream and higher services monetization. Maps ads
• Positive Sentiment: Supply‑chain checks and analyst notes (BofA) suggest Apple is preparing a 2026 foldable iPhone — catalysts for hardware upgrade cycles and investor enthusiasm around a new form factor. Foldable iPhone supply checks
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” view and set a $315 target, and other surveys point to stronger iPhone upgrade intent (supporting revenue visibility). Analyst optimism
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in this cycle shows effectively zero days to cover (no material short pressure), which is unlikely to move the stock materially either way. Short interest note
• Neutral Sentiment: Options/volatility chatter (iron‑condor strategies) highlights elevated implied volatility—relevant to derivatives traders but mixed for equity direction. Options strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Supply‑side cost pressure: Apple has raised some storage prices and faces higher memory costs; management choices (absorbing costs vs. passing to customers) could pressure margins. Storage price/cost pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in Europe: broadcasters have urged scrutiny of big tech’s control over smart‑TV and AI features, adding a potential regulatory overhang to services and platform expansion. EU regulatory pressure

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.