Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded down 1.8% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $335.82 and last traded at $338.32. Approximately 55,782,955 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 48,347,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.63.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post-election relief helped lift major technology stocks, including Apple, as investors saw reduced near-term uncertainty. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reached a record high amid signs of renewed demand. Investors are also weighing the rollout of Apple Intelligence in China, which could help close a competitive gap in a major market. Invezz article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reducing employee budgets for AI tools as it seeks to manage expenses, while reported research costs have climbed 32%. Cost control may help, but the spending trend underscores the expense of competing in AI. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory prices remain a key risk to profitability: Apple expects higher component costs to pressure holiday-quarter gross margins, and its manufacturing purchase commitments have increased. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin concerns persist despite the rally; DZ Bank downgraded Apple to sell, citing a $300 price target. MarketBeat ratings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. HSBC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.51.

Apple Trading Up 5.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $334.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.40 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,567 shares in the company, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 289,252 shares of company stock worth $96,301,063 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospect Hill Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 136.9% during the third quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,490,000 after buying an additional 21,676 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.