Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 2.2% – Should You Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares shot up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $274.89 and last traded at $272.14. 46,641,387 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 52,490,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.18.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is in talks to launch Apple Pay in India later this year — a large addressable market that could boost Services revenue and long‑term payment volume growth. Apple talks with banks to start payment service in India, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Apple asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class-action accusing it of overstating Siri AI progress — a legal defense that, if successful, would limit potential financial and reputational fallout. Apple seeks dismissal of fraud lawsuit over Siri AI, Epic injunction
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix will stream season eight of “Drive to Survive” on Apple TV and will broadcast the Canadian F1 Grand Prix live in the U.S. — a content partnership that supports Apple TV+ engagement and Services monetization. Netflix and Apple TV join forces on F1 content
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook teased multiple product launches next week (new MacBooks, iPads, iPhone 17e) — potential near-term revenue catalysts and reasons for increased investor attention. Tim Cook Teases Apple Launch On Monday: Here’s What To Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: MoffettNathanson raised Apple’s price target to $270 but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest analyst repricing that signals mixed near‑term conviction despite strong fundamentals. Finviz
• Neutral Sentiment: J.P. Morgan highlights “AI companions” as a potential long-term tailwind for Apple — a bullish thematic view that supports multi‑year upside but is not an immediate earnings driver. AI Companions Could Make Apple Stock an AI Winner, Says J.P. Morgan
• Negative Sentiment: Spain’s antitrust regulator says Apple (and Amazon) were slow to comply with an order to remove anti‑competitive clauses — an active regulatory matter that could force contract or distribution changes and increase legal/compliance costs. Spain’s antitrust watchdog says Apple, Amazon took too long to refine anti-competitive contracts
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI hired a researcher who previously led Apple’s models team — a signal that AI talent is mobile and competition for top engineers remains intense, which could slow Apple’s AI roadmap execution. OpenAI hires Meta AI researcher who previously led Apple’s models team
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that several marquee investors trimmed Apple positions (Buffett, Dalio, Griffin) add psychological selling pressure and raise questions about near‑term insider/institutional conviction. Ken Griffin, Ray Dalio, and Warren Buffett All Sold More Apple Stock. Should You?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Maxim Group raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $239.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.41.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.