Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Downgraded by Oppenheimer to “Market Perform”

Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Apple from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $256.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.05.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.75. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,702 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 35.6% in the second quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 51,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,951,000 after acquiring an additional 13,638 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.6% in the second quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,069 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,438,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the second quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 106,350 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 39,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,269,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

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.