Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Apple Inc. Stock Update – January 20, 2025
Target Price Update
Raymond James (Analyst Rank#4) has reaffirmed its Buy rating for Apple Inc., setting a target price of USD 250. This represents an optimistic outlook compared to the current average analyst target price of USD 242.99, based on forecasts from 31 analysts for the next 12 months.
Analyst Ratings
Apple Inc. enjoys a consensus Buy rating from analysts, indicating strong confidence in the company’s growth potential and profitability.
AI-Powered Fundamental Analysis
Stock Target Advisor-AI’s independent analysis of Apple supports a Bullish rating based on 13 positive signals and only 4 negative signals.
Positive Fundamentals
- Low Volatility: Stable and consistent annual returns compared to sector peers, ranking in the top quartile.
- Superior Risk-Adjusted Returns: Strong performance on a risk-adjusted basis over a 12-month period.
- Positive Cash Flow: Positive total and free cash flow over the past four quarters.
- Superior Return Metrics:
- High return on assets, invested capital, and equity, ranking in the top quartile among peers.
- High Market Capitalization: Among the largest and most stable companies in its sector.
- Top Quartile Growth:
- Revenue, earnings, and dividends have shown superior growth over the past five years.
- High Gross Profit to Asset Ratio: Reflects strong long-term returns, favored by value investors.
- Superior Total Returns: Outperformed sector peers in annual total returns over the past five years.
Negative Fundamentals
- Overpriced:
- Price-to-Book: Trades higher than peers’ median.
- Price-to-Cash Flow: Priced above the sector median.
- Price-to-Free Cash Flow: Valued above peers on this basis as well.
- High Leverage:
- Debt-to-equity ratio is in the bottom half of sector peers, indicating high leverage.
- This could be a result of aggressive growth strategies, but investors should assess sector trends and management’s plans.
Recent Stock Performance
- Current Price: USD 229.98
- Weekly Performance: -2.90%
- Monthly Performance: -7.93%
- Annual Performance: +20.06%
The stock’s recent downturn over the past month reflects broader market volatility or sector-specific pressures, but the significant year-over-year gain of over 20% highlights Apple’s enduring appeal and resilience.
Outlook
While Apple’s stock has seen short-term declines, its strong fundamentals and long-term growth prospects, supported by bullish analyst ratings and an ambitious target price, make it an attractive investment opportunity for the coming year.
STA Research (StockTargetAdvisor.com) is a independent Investment Research company that specializes in stock forecasting and analysis with integrated AI, based on our platform stocktargetadvisor.com, EST 2007.
