Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $275.00 to $252.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.22.

Apple Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $236.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.12. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% 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.