Apple logoApple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 79,680,000 shares, an increase of 236.8% from the August 15th total of 23,660,000 shares.
Based on an average trading volume of 171,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.
Shares of Apple stock opened at $112.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1,967.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Apple has a 12-month low of $53.15 and a 12-month high of $137.98.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $59.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.94 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 70.66% and a net margin of 21.33%. On average, analysts predict that Apple will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.
In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 265,160 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.91, for a total value of $131,760,655.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lountzis Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Heard Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000.
Sofos Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Sofos Investments Inc. now owns 940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 113,515.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,356,072 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 40,320,552 shares during the last quarter. 59.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $88.75 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $100.00 to $106.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cascend Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $81.25 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Macquarie reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $66.60 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, BofA Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $102.50 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.64.
Apple Company Profile
Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services. 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, HomePod, iPod touch, and other Apple-branded and third-party accessories.
