Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $260.00 at Evercore ISI

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target increased by analysts at Evercore ISI from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.42% from the company’s current price.

AAPL has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.88.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $237.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $241.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC now owns 28,266 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,078,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $2,469,000. WBH Advisory Inc. raised its position in Apple by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. WBH Advisory Inc. now owns 76,594 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $19,181,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.