DA Davidson Reiterates Neutral Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by investment analysts at DA Davidson in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $270.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price points to a potential downside of 16.89% from the stock’s previous close.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.61.

Apple Stock Down 0.1%

Apple stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $324.88. The stock had a trading volume of 15,092,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,925,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $4.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $313.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.18. Apple has a 52 week low of $225.95 and a 52 week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total transaction of $447,457.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,576,357.55. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,367,024. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the second quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO transition initially reassures investors. John Ternus formally succeeded Tim Cook on September 1 after 25 years at Apple, including leadership of hardware engineering. Investors appear to favor an internal successor who understands Apple’s product and chip strategy, while Cook remains executive chairman and is expected to stay involved. Apple’s Shares Rise 2.6% as John Ternus Takes Over as CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Strong product-launch expectations are supporting the stock. Ternus called next week’s iPhone event a “phenomenal” or “huge” launch. Investors are watching for a premium-focused iPhone lineup and potentially a foldable model, which could refresh demand and provide the new CEO with an early credibility boost. Apple Stock Is Days Away From an Inflection Point
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to strengthen Apple’s earnings mix. Recent quarterly services revenue reached a record $30.98 billion, while Apple raised Apple TV and Apple One prices by as much as 20%. The pricing actions highlight the company’s ecosystem and recurring-revenue power, and services carry higher margins than hardware. What Does Apple’s TV Price Hike Say About Where the Stock Is Heading?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. BofA reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing potential “device dominance” in the AI era. Rosenblatt, by contrast, raised its target only to $303 while maintaining a Neutral rating, implying that much of the anticipated growth may already be reflected in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution remains the central risk. Ternus inherits concerns that Apple trails rivals in generative AI and relies heavily on outside partners. Investors want evidence that Apple can improve Siri, retain AI talent and make the iPhone central to an AI-driven computing ecosystem. Apple Enters John Ternus Era as AI Challenges and Memory Crunch Intensify
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost pressures limit the margin for error. AAPL trades near its record high at roughly 37 times earnings, while rising memory costs are expected to pressure hardware margins. The company is also facing an ongoing trade-secrets lawsuit with OpenAI, adding another uncertainty during the leadership change.

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.