Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $173.00 Price Target at Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target cut by analysts at Barclays from $197.00 to $173.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 18.90% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.63.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $213.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $212.98 and a 200 day moving average of $228.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.