Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Rise Advisors LLC

Rise Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 40.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,004 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,889 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 0.9% of Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV raised its holdings in Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Evansbrook LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. raised 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 worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,438,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple acquired Ascension Labs, which operates as Ascend.io, gaining access to agentic artificial-intelligence talent and intellectual property. The deal supports Apple’s effort to strengthen its AI capabilities, although financial terms were not disclosed. Apple Acquires AI Firm Ascend.io Talent and Patents
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain supportive: the foldable iPhone Duo reportedly sold out quickly, orders are backed up, and Apple is positioned to benefit from strong iPhone, Mac and Services demand. Analysts including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs remain constructive, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and a $370 price target. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Apple
• Positive Sentiment: The first touchscreen MacBook Pro, equipped with OLED displays and M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, expands Apple’s premium hardware lineup and could support a new product-cycle catalyst. Apple Shows First Touchscreen Laptops
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s earnings report is the immediate focus. Investors will look for evidence that revenue growth, Services momentum and AI investments can offset rising component costs and potentially slower holiday growth. Options activity suggests substantial volatility around the release. Apple November 2 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: AI-related demand has sharply increased flash-memory prices, raising concerns that Apple’s gross margin will come under pressure. Qualcomm also indicated that Apple-related revenue is declining faster than previously expected, reinforcing concerns about the pace of future iPhone growth. AI Has Made Flash Memory More Expensive
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 40 times earnings and near its yearly high, Apple has limited room for an earnings or guidance disappointment. A senior vice president’s repeated stock sales and a South Korean fine related to app-market practices add modest additional caution. Apple Insider Selling

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citic Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Yorkville Ives began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $355.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $344.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $351.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.