Apple’s (AAPL) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $315.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $3.75 on Monday, hitting $251.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,623,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,288,730. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $260.99 and its 200-day moving average is $262.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Apple by 98,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 890.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s global smartphone survey shows record iPhone upgrade intent for 2026, which analysts say could translate into higher iPhone unit growth and market‑share gains. Morgan Stanley survey shows record upgrade interest for Apple’s iPhones
• Positive Sentiment: Reports point to strong iPhone upgrade trends and early, above‑expectations traction for Apple’s latest Mac lineup — factors driving optimistic sales outlooks across Apple’s hardware ecosystem. Apple Gains on Strong iPhone Upgrade Trends
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook’s appearance at the China Development Forum and comments praising Chinese partners reinforce Apple’s commitment to the market after signs of a China iPhone sales recovery — a key growth region. U.S. executives revamp push into China; Tim Cook speaks
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple announced WWDC will be held online June 8–12; an online WWDC keeps developer engagement intact but is not an immediate revenue driver. Apple to hold annual developers conference in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Options / volatility flow: several outlets are highlighting iron‑condor and other option strategies on AAPL given its position between key moving averages and elevated implied volatility — useful for traders but not a direct fundamental catalyst. High-Probability Iron Condor Trade on Apple Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its AAPL price target slightly (from $325 to $320) and flagged near‑term headwinds — a small negative signal for sentiment despite maintaining a buy rating. BofA price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory costs have forced Apple to raise external storage prices and absorb higher component costs, which could pressure margins if cost inflation persists. Apple storage prices jump as AI memory shortage drives cost increases
• Negative Sentiment: European broadcasters are asking regulators to scrutinize big tech’s control over smart TV and AI content distribution, adding to regulatory risk that could affect Apple’s services and platform positioning in Europe. EU broadcasters target big tech over smart TV/AI control

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.