AlphaQuest LLC Invests $695,000 in Apple Inc. $AAPL

AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $695,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook teased a series of product launches next week (new iPhone, iPad, MacBook announcements), which typically lifts demand expectations and short‑term investor sentiment. Tim Cook Teases Apple Launch On Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Netflix agreed to co‑broadcast the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Apple TV and Netflix, a partnership that can boost Apple TV viewership and services engagement. Apple and Netflix team up to air Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix
• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters report Apple is in talks to launch Apple Pay in India — a multi‑hundred‑million‑user market that could materially grow services revenues over time. Apple talks with banks to start payment service in India
• Positive Sentiment: Apple moved to dismiss a proposed class action alleging it misled investors on Siri’s AI progress — if successful, this reduces a legal overhang. Apple seeks dismissal of fraud lawsuit over Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan highlighted Apple’s potential to benefit from AI “companions” and Apple Intelligence initiatives, reinforcing the view that Apple can monetize AI through devices and services. AI Companions Could Make Apple Stock an AI Winner
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in recent filings appears anomalous/zero (likely reporting error), so it provides no clear directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heightened retail/institutional search and ETF coverage mention Apple as a core holding (Zacks, Vanguard ETF pieces), reflecting continued investor attention but not immediate directional impact. Investors Heavily Search Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Advisors and funds continue to rebalance allocations (mentions of trades to balance Nvidia/Apple exposure), indicating portfolio flows but not a clear buy/sell signal. Advisor added to bond position to balance Nvidia and Apple holdings
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI hired a high‑profile researcher who previously led Apple’s models team, underscoring talent competition in AI that could challenge Apple’s pace of AI product development. OpenAI hires Meta AI researcher who previously led Apple’s models team
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market pressure: coverage on Magnificent Seven profit-taking and elevated Nasdaq stress gauges suggests sectorwide selling/volatility, which depresses large-cap tech stocks including AAPL. Stocks Are Set for a February Slide. Can the Magnificent 7 Spark a March Rebound?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price objective on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.41.

Apple Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $264.18 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $264.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.