Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 2.2% – Time to Sell?
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemApple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) was down 2.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $249.52 and last traded at $250.12. Approximately 36,502,741 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 49,228,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.76.
Apple News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Launch of low-cost hardware (MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e) can expand addressable market and defend share — the new $599 devices are being positioned as disruptive in entry-level PCs/phones and could boost unit growth even if near-term margins compress. Apple Launches a Price War Its Rivals Can’t Afford to Fight
- Positive Sentiment: Early ratings for Formula 1 on Apple TV look strong — higher viewership on exclusive sports rights could help Services/Apple TV+ engagement and gross margin diversification over time. Apple Gets Early Formula 1 Ratings Win
- Neutral Sentiment: Apple agreed to lower App Store commissions in mainland China (to 25%, and 12% for some renewals) after regulator discussions — this reduces regulatory risk and developer friction but likely trims Services revenue/margins in its second-largest market. Apple cuts China App Store commission fees after government pressure
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and market chatter is mixed — small PT tweaks and “no near-term catalyst” notes coexist with several buy/outperform views and a large buyback program that can support the stock mechanically. Apple Stock Opinions on Tech Sector Pullback
- Negative Sentiment: Memory and component inflation (and supplier cost warnings) are real — rising memory/chip costs pressure margins, and Apple’s decision to absorb some cost/feature increases to keep prices low could depress near-term profitability. Memory Inflation Is Real—and Apple Is the Only One Turning It Into an Opportunity
- Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment/positioning risks — tech-wide pullback chatter, visible insider selling activity, and some technical sell signals are amplifying downside pressure despite fundamental strengths. Apple Stock Opinions on Tech Sector Pullback
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.58.
Get Our Latest Report on Apple
Apple Trading Down 2.2%
The company has a 50-day moving average of $262.49 and a 200 day moving average of $261.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
About Apple
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.