Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 7.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were down 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $345.00 to $340.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $300.00 and last traded at $308.91. 131,672,244 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 158% from the average session volume of 50,965,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.43.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.60.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported a record June quarter, with revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s installed base remains at a record level, and analysts cited strong hardware demand, Apple’s hybrid AI strategy and potential long-term opportunities from upgraded Siri and consumer AI adoption. Several firms maintained buy or overweight ratings, with some price targets reaching $360 to $400. Tim Cook sees Apple’s hybrid AI strategy as a competitive weapon
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. The company is also expanding its U.S. hardware leasing program with Klarna, which could encourage faster device upgrades but has yet to demonstrate a material financial impact. Klarna lands Apple upgrade role
• Negative Sentiment: Apple forecast fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion, below the approximately $114.3 billion consensus estimate. CEO Tim Cook warned that supply constraints would increasingly affect iPhones, Macs and iPads as AI-related demand drives a severe memory shortage and exceptionally high prices. Apple slides as supply snags cloud outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Services growth was weaker than expected and declined sequentially for the first time since 2022, partly because of currency effects, App Store regulatory changes and a slowdown in gaming-related activity. Softer China performance added to concerns about Apple’s growth profile. Global regulatory changes slow Apple’s Services growth
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also noted that the earnings beat benefited from tariff refunds, which may not recur, while rising memory costs threaten gross margins. The combination of elevated valuation and disappointing guidance prompted a sharp sell-the-news reaction despite strong current-quarter results.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

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.