Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $330.81 and last traded at $328.21. Approximately 36,696,994 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 49,957,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.96.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of Apple’s Sept. 9 product event. New CEO John Ternus called the launch “phenomenal,” raising expectations for the next iPhone lineup and a possible foldable iPhone. Morgan Stanley estimates a foldable model could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue, while longer-term forecasts envision more than 17 million units by 2027. Apple product launch and CEO transition
• Positive Sentiment: The CEO transition has so far been viewed as orderly. Ternus is a 25-year Apple veteran with deep hardware and Apple Silicon experience, while Tim Cook remains executive chairman and is expected to help with policymaking, tariffs and China-related issues. Shares have recovered nearly 10% from their post-earnings low as investors anticipate continuity and a stronger product cycle. Apple shares rise as John Ternus becomes CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains a catalyst. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an Overweight rating with a $360 target, while Rosenblatt raised its target to $303. Bullish commentary also points to Apple’s recurring Services revenue, strong cash generation and potential for artificial-intelligence improvements to Siri and the broader ecosystem.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s premium valuation—roughly 38 times earnings—leaves limited room for execution mistakes. Wall Street is divided, with bullish targets near $400 but DA Davidson maintaining a $270 Neutral target. The Sept. 9 event is therefore a significant near-term test of demand, pricing and Ternus’ strategy. Apple valuation and services strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Apple (AAPL) to Underperform, citing the cancellation of an expected all-glass iPhone and arguing that the foldable device may remain a niche product. Rising memory-chip costs could push the new Pro iPhone’s bill of materials nearly 40% higher, forcing Apple to raise prices, accept lower margins or risk weaker demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) UK lawsuit alleging that its App Tracking Transparency rules impose tougher requirements on third-party developers than on Apple’s own advertising services. Beyond the potential financial liability, the case could increase regulatory pressure on Apple’s control of the App Store and advertising ecosystem. Apple UK app tracking lawsuit

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. China Renaissance cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. HSBC raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $366.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.61.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $313.87 and a 200-day moving average of $289.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total transaction of $447,457.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,576,357.55. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,433 shares of company stock worth $1,367,024. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,950,297,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.