Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $260.00 to $275.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target suggests a potential upside of 27.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $215.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $232.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.