Everyone is aware of Apple and how the company redefines technology. Despite being a pioneer at introducing updated technology with each model, the brand still hasn’t overtaken the likes of SAMSUNG when it comes to sales. When iPhone sales dropped, every investor got spooked. When though Apple is considered one of the most controversial stocks to invest in, many believe that the tech giant is on the brink of witnessing a new era.
Apple stock live chart
About Apple Company
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California. Apple company sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.
Apple company history:
Apple Computers, Inc. was founded by college dropouts Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976. in the garage of Jobs’ parents. Jobs and Wozniak wanted to make computers small enough for people to have them in their homes or offices. The Apple II revolutionized the computer industry with the introduction of the first-ever color graphics. Apple sales jumped from $7.8 million in 1978 to $117 million in 1980. In that year, 1980. Apple becomes a public company.
Is Apple a private company?
Apple is not a private company, it is a publicly held company. Apple becomes the world’s 1st private-sector company Worth 1 trillion dollars in market value.
Apple financial analysis – Apple key stats
| VALUATION | |
|---|---|
| P/E Current | 40.6 |
| P/E Ratio (w/ extraordinary items) | 35.6 |
| P/E Ratio (w/o extraordinary items) | 34.28 |
| Price to Sales Ratio | 7.18 |
| Price to Book Ratio | 29.17 |
| Price to Cash Flow Ratio | 24.4 |
| Enterprise Value to EBITDA | 26.05 |
| Enterprise Value to Sales | 7.29 |
| Total Debt to Enterprise Value | 0.06 |
| EFFICIENCY | |
| Revenue/Employee | $1.865M |
| Income Per Employeee | $390,551 |
| Receivables Turnover | 6.59 |
| Total Asset Turnover | 0.83 |
| LIQUIDITY | |
| Current Ratio | 1.36 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.33 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.86 |
| PROFITABILITY | |
| Gross Margin | 37.94% |
| Operating Margin | 23.83% |
| Pretax Margin | 24.47% |
| Net Margin | 20.94% |
| Return on Assets | 17.33% |
| Return on Equity | 73.69% |
| Return on Total Capital | 33.84% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 32.37% |
| CAPITALIZATION | |
| Total Debt to Total Equity | 187.14 |
| Total Debt to Total Capital | 65.17 |
| Total Debt to Total Assets | 37.75 |
| Long-Term Debt to Equity | 163.84 |
| Long-Term Debt to Total Capital | 57.06 |
AAPL stock price forecast will not be straightforward for sure, but if you are wondering about these stocks’ future, you are at the right place. We will discuss its past performance and use it to make future predictions. We will also throw light on the major drivers that will allow us to answer the most asked question, “will Apple shares go up?”.
Apple stock forecast 2021
Apple stock forecast for the year 2021 shows that the maximum price for Apple stock can be $380, minimum price $80, and high probability price can be $130. Prediction is made using 30 technical analysis parameters and 29 financial analysis parameters.
Apple 5-year stock forecast
Apple’s 5-year stock forecast shows a predicted price of $438 (median price) for the year 2026. In the projection, the model has included 30 technical analysis parameters and 29 financial analysis parameters.
2021 Apple Stock Forecast: Is it Worth Investing In?
Apple was earlier seen as a safe bet by many, but with the big breakout in 2021 and major needle movements, many are skeptical about its future.
- The day iPhone launched its 5G variant, Apple received a preorder request for 2 million units of the same. These requests were 100% more than what they received last year. This lead to a hardware business boom. In addition to that, given the current work from school and online studies culture, there is an increased demand for other Apple gadgets like Macs and iPads.
- Apple has also launched Apple One bundle. This is a new all-inclusive subscription plan that the entire family could use. This bundle includes Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and iCloud storage. This is likely to cause an upsurge in further sign-ups and TV viewers. Apple Fitness+, a popular service, is good enough to satisfy fitness enthusiasts, especially now that most people are using home workout videos.
Record-Breaking Earnings in the Fourth-Quarter, What Next?
Apple announced its financial results for the fiscal fourth-quarter of 2020 in October 2020. According to the reports, their outstandings were $64.7bn in revenue. They diluted $0.73 earnings per share. The next quarter accounted for international sales on 59% of the company’s revenue.
Apple CEO, Tin Cook, commented in a successful quarter year by praising its innovation in the face of adversities. He also mentioned the record for Mac sales. He also shared that while the world is on a halt due to the pandemic, Apple introduced the most prolific product ever, and the 5G-enabled iPhone has received tremendous results.
As soon as the report was released, the company shares plunged by 5.6%. This came as a surprise to many, especially if we compare it with the Wall Street predictions. This plunge was nothing but a result of a decline in the sales of iPhones. This happened because the customers were still waiting for the product to be made available.
Apple Stock Analysis: Will the Performance of AAPL is affected by Lower iPhone Sales?
A decrease in the sale of the iPhone is not new. This has been going on for 3 years but the last quarter saw a remarkable decrease in the sales by 21%. Can we say that the iPhone’s popularity is declining or that people are not that enthusiastic about it anymore? Will people stop buying iPhones? The simple answer is ‘no.’
The decrease in sales cannot be translated to a decline in interest but the phone’s longevity. iPhone owners are now using the same phone for a longer period of time. They are only upgrading the software and not the handset. Earlier, people would buy a new model more frequently.
If we look at the figures and states, we will see that in 2017, approximately 19% of the iPhones in the world accounted for new models, which declined to 7.5% in 2019. People were still using and buying the iPhone, but even in 2019, the three-year-old iPhone 7 was the most popular model as compared to its successors.
This was happening because people were not that motivated to invest in a new iPhone anymore. People are not interested in paying for the same technology repeatedly. Unless there isn’t any critical or long-awaited innovation, buyers will not be spending hundreds of dollars on a gadget.
Some are wondering if iPhone 12 with the 5G experience will change the game or not. For now, the results look promising, but we are yet to see the exact outcome.
Irrespective of what the iPhone 12 does for Apple, we know that the company is constantly growing, given the sales of its devices on a global level. This number surpassed the 1.5 billion mark at the beginning of 2020.
In addition to that, an increased number of Apple device users also means that they will be using its services. Apple services were responsible for bringing 23% more profit in 2020 than iPhone sales’ profits. Therefore, even if the sales are not promising enough, enough active iPhone users will still fetch more than enough profits for the company.
AAPL Stock Forecast: Can You Expect the Prices to Go Higher?
AAPL stock prices decreased significantly last year when they went from $137.98 in September to $117.13 in November. This 2-months long bearish sentiment was followed by a big announcement made by the company. The multinational company became the first US company that crossed the $2tr in August in market capitalization.
Talking about Apple’s share price prediction, CNN Money surveyed 36 analysts, and collectively, the analysts predict that the median price target of this company’s share within the following few months will be $133. This is a growth of 15% from the yearly price of $115.
According to these analysts, Apple’s share prices can go as high as $150 and as low as $74.10. Despite the low price prediction, most analysts confirm that AAPL stock is worth your investment in the year 2021.
Walletinvestor, yet another analytical service, believes that Apple shares will see a bullish trend throughout 2021. According to the platform, the median price target will be $139 for the next 12 months. This makes Apple a good long-term investment option. Its Apple stock outlook expects its price to rise as high as $233 in the next five years.
Should You Buy or Sell?
If we choose to look past the negative predictions from Goldman Sachs, most analysts believe in Apple. However, one cannot neglect that AAPL stock saw a long bearish sentiment for various reasons, including the delay in launching iPhone 12.
Rod Hall, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, said that the stock is about to collapse. He believes that it will see a nasty fall and predicts that the prices can decline by 36%. This would mean that the prices would range somewhere between $80 – $75. The reason behind his concern is the decline in the sales of the iPhone.
iPhone sales are going down are putting pressure on AAPL stocks, but we cannot neglect that Mac and iPad have emerged victorious in sales during this pandemic. The sales of these two products have been on the rise, which will support Apple Inc’s growth.
To conclude, we can say that even if there is a risk involved, one should not rush and sell AAPL stocks. The long-term benefits of this stock seem promising.
