Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $260.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 24.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.29.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded down $10.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $209.27. 117,477,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 63,807,281. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $213.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The company has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.