Rosenblatt Securities Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by stock analysts at Rosenblatt Securities in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $217.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.80% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.94.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $209.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $205.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.16. Apple has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.