Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 4.8% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $309.42 and last traded at $308.63. 74,852,903 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 50,746,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.38.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple plans at least five new iPhone models through early 2027, including a stronger foldable iPhone push, have reinforced expectations for a fresh product cycle and a longer growth runway. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Apple also appears to be benefiting from investor optimism that it can navigate the memory-chip shortage and secure supply, including possible deals with lower-cost Chinese chipmakers, which could help protect future production. Apple negotiates with blacklisted Chinese chipmakers amid AI-driven memory crunch
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces said Apple is holding up better than the broader tech sector, with traders viewing recent weakness as a buying opportunity and analysts still pointing to solid upside potential. Apple’s Aggressive Price Hikes Raise Eyebrows As Wall Street Links AI Chip Shortages To Inflation Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent price hikes on Macs and iPads are being interpreted two ways: as a sign of inflationary component costs, but also as a margin-protection move that may not hurt demand as much as feared. Jim Cramer’s Latest Thought on Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s insider-selling activity and mixed institutional positioning are adding caution, but they are not the main driver of the stock today. Apple Stock (AAPL) Opinions on Recent Price Hikes and Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage continues to flag pressure on Apple’s margins and demand if higher component costs force more price increases, which could weigh on sentiment over time. Is Apple stock in trouble? Rising costs threaten margins, demand

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Overbrook Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 14.1% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after acquiring an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.