Apple Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 1,377,435 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the average volume of 815,803 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Melius Research set a $345.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarter driven by iPhone 17 and China — Apple beat revenue and EPS expectations, reported record iPhone sales and gave strong March-quarter revenue/margin guidance, supporting bullish near-term fundamentals. Apple sales, profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target increases — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy ratings after the beat (including TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Monness Crespi & Hardt), which supports upside sentiment among institutional investors. Analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: AI strategy remains ambiguous — Apple announced partnerships (e.g., Google Gemini) and made AI-related M&A (Q.ai), but offered limited execution details; these moves signal intent but leave monetization and competitive positioning unclear. AI details unclear
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential supply-chain diversification — Reports that Apple is exploring U.S. foundry partners (e.g., Intel) could ease long-term sourcing risk but are early-stage and not an immediate fix for 2026 capacity issues. Intel foundry reports
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs and shortages — Apple warned memory prices are beginning to bite; suppliers like Samsung and SK Hynix are prioritizing AI chips, tightening supply and pressuring gross margins if costs stay elevated. Memory cost warning
• Negative Sentiment: iPhone production constraints — Multiple reports say TSMC/other chip shortages are limiting Apple’s ability to meet iPhone demand, forcing Apple to prioritize premium models and potentially capping unit growth despite strong demand. TSMC supply short
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and execution questions in AI — Reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that the Google partnership could limit Apple’s AI upside have soured investor enthusiasm for Apple’s AI prospects. AI researcher departures

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

Apple stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $259.48. 92,324,812 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,378,696. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $268.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. Apple has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 171.22% and a net margin of 27.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

About Apple

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.