Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 5% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $260.18 and last traded at $261.73. 77,458,346 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 54,494,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.50.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone demand and upbeat fundamentals — Apple reported solid results and analysts point to continued iPhone-led revenue growth, supporting longer-term earnings momentum. Strong iPhone Sales Drive Apple Up 18%
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst thesis and raised targets — firms including Bernstein and Evercore reiterate confidence (price targets in the $330–$340 area), citing Apple’s AI roadmap and resilient cash generation. Bernstein Raises Apple Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Vision Pro content wins but demand questions — YouTube arrives on Vision Pro (positive for ecosystem), but reports show VR demand remains soft, making near-term monetization uncertain. Vision Pro Gets YouTube
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and buyback program continues — Apple recently paid its quarterly dividend and remains active on repurchases, supporting shareholder returns but offering limited near-term offset to today’s headline-driven selling. Apple Just Paid Investors
• Negative Sentiment: FTC scrutiny over alleged Apple News bias — The FTC asked CEO Tim Cook to review Apple News curation after claims it suppresses conservative outlets, raising regulatory and reputational risk. This attracted headlines and political attention today. FTC tells Tim Cook to look into reports Apple News is censoring conservatives
• Negative Sentiment: Siri / AI upgrade delays — Multiple outlets report Apple’s long-planned Siri overhaul is running into testing problems and some features may be pushed back, fueling concerns about Apple’s AI timeline and near-term execution. Apple’s Latest Attempt to Launch New Siri Runs Into Snags – Bloomberg
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/AI headwinds and fund reallocation — Broader tech weakness (AI capex worries, chip/memory supply and margin concerns) and several reported asset-manager trims have pressured Apple alongside peers. Apple Stock Tumbles as Censorship Claims, AI Spending Fuel Investor Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears anomalous — recent short-interest reports show 0 shares / NaN change (likely a data glitch), so no clear short-squeeze signal from the published stats. (Source: exchange short-interest filings summary)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.13.

Apple Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $267.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $255.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. lifted its position 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 valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,740,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Apple by 48.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.