Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns “Neutral” Rating from UBS Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by equities research analysts at UBS Group in a research note issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $236.00 target price on the iPhone maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.56% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AAPL. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.68.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $237.33 on Monday. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $229.02 and its 200 day moving average is $220.02. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.