JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $225.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.70% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.60. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management raised its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.