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How To Invest In
Apple is a consumer electronics business based in the US. Apple shares (AAPL.US) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was $121.085 – a decrease of 6.76% over the previous week. Apple employs 100,000 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around $325.4 billion.
How to buy shares in Apple
- Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
- Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
- Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
- Search the platform for stock code: AAPL in this case.
- Research Apple shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
- Buy your Apple shares. It's that simple.
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What's in this guide?
- Can I buy shares in Apple?
- Has coronavirus impacted Apple shares?
- Apple shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is Apple stock a buy or sell?
- Apple performance over time
- Can I short Apple shares?
- Is Apple suitable for ethical investing?
- Are Apple shares over-valued?
- Apple's financials
- How volatile are Apple shares?
- Does Apple pay a dividend?
- Have Apple shares ever split?
- Other common questions
How has Coronavirus impacted Apple's share price?
Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, Apple's share price has had significant negative movement.
Its last market close was $121.085, which is 61.32% down on its pre-crash value of $313.05 and 75.59% down on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as $212.61.
If you had bought $1,000 worth of Apple shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth $726.96 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth $392.32.
Apple share price
Use our graph to track the performance of AAPL stocks over time.Apple shares at a glance
Information last updated 2021-05-15.
| Latest market close | $121.085 |
|---|---|
| 52-week range | $77.0618 - $144.6279 |
| 50-day moving average | $129.4031 |
| 200-day moving average | $126.5449 |
| Wall St. target price | $159.74 |
| PE ratio | 28.6469 |
| Dividend yield | $0.82 (0.66%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | $4.449 |
Compare online stock trading platforms
Note: The dollar amounts in the table below are in Canadian dollars.
Online stock trading
Is it a good time to buy Apple stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Apple price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $121.085
| 1 month (2021-04-13) | -9.93% |
|---|---|
| 3 months (2021-02-12) | -10.55% |
| 6 months (2020-11-13) | 1.53% |
| 1 year (2020-05-15) | -60.65% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2019-05-15) | -36.58% |
| 3 years (2018-05-15) | -35.05% |
| 5 years (2016-05-13) | 33.77% |
Is Apple under- or over-valued?
Valuing Apple stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Apple's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Apple's P/E ratio
Apple's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 29x. In other words, Apple shares trade at around 29x recent earnings.
That's comparable to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29).
Apple's PEG ratio
Apple's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.0361. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Apple's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Apple's EBITDA
Apple's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$99.8 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a Apple's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Apple financials
| Revenue TTM | USD$325.4 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 27.32% |
| Gross profit TTM | USD$105 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 16.9% |
| Return on equity TTM | 103.4% |
| Profit margin | 23.45% |
| Book value | $4.146 |
| Market capitalisation | USD$2.1 trillion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
How to short and sell Apple shares
- Create a CFD or spread betting account.
- Search for the stock code. E.g. "AAPL.US"
- Choose your position size.
- Select "sell" rather than "buy".
- Confirm your position and keep tabs on it. You may wish to set limits on your position.
There are currently 82.7 million Apple shares held short by investors – that's known as Apple's "short interest". This figure is 35.2% down from 127.6 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Apple shares can be evaluated.
Apple's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
Apple's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Apple shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Apple shares traded daily (recently around 90.9 million). Apple's SIR currently stands at 0.91. In other words for every 100,000 Apple shares traded daily on the market, roughly 910 shares are currently held short.
However Apple's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Apple shares, or, against the total number of tradable Apple shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Apple's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Apple shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.005% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Apple shares, roughly 5 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Apple.
Find out more about how you can short Apple stock.
Apple's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Apple.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Apple's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 26.15
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Apple's overall score of 26.15 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 37th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Apple is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Apple's environmental score
Environmental score: 0.99/100
Apple's environmental score of 0.99 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Apple's social score
Social score: 13.98/100
Apple's social score of 13.98 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Apple's governance score
Governance score: 11.18/100
Apple's governance score puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Apple's controversy score
Controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Apple scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Apple hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Apple Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 26.15 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 36.8 |
| Environmental score | 0.99 |
| Environmental score percentile | 5 |
| Social score | 13.98 |
| Social score percentile | 5 |
| Governance score | 11.18 |
| Governance score percentile | 5 |
| Level of controversy | 3 |
Apple share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 18.72% of net profits
Recently Apple has paid out, on average, around 18.72% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.69% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Apple shareholders could enjoy a 0.69% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Apple's case, that would currently equate to about $0.82 per share.
While Apple's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Apple is investing more in its future growth.
Apple's most recent dividend payout was on 13 May 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 7 May 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have Apple's shares ever split?
Apple's shares were split on a 4:1 basis on 31 August 2020. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 4 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Apple shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 75% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Apple shares which in turn could have impacted Apple's share price.
Apple share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Apple's shares have ranged in value from as little as $77.0618 up to $144.6279. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Apple's is 1.2037. This would suggest that Apple's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).
Apple overview
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services. 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, HomePod, iPod touch, and other Apple-branded and third-party accessories. It also provides AppleCare support services; cloud services store services; and operates various platforms, including the App Store, that allow customers to discover and download applications and digital content, such as books, music, video, games, and podcasts. In addition, the company offers various services, such as Apple Arcade, a game subscription service; Apple Music, which offers users a curated listening experience with on-demand radio stations; Apple News+, a subscription news and magazine service; Apple TV+, which offers exclusive original content; Apple Card, a co-branded credit card; and Apple Pay, a cashless payment service, as well as licenses its intellectual property. The company serves consumers, and small and mid-sized businesses; and the education, enterprise, and government markets. It sells and delivers third-party applications for its products through the App Store. The company also sells its products through its retail and online stores, and direct sales force; and third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and resellers. Apple Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Frequently asked questions
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of futures, stocks, ETFs, CFDs, options or any specific provider, service or offering. It should not be relied upon as investment advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. Futures, stocks, ETFs and options trading involves substantial risk of loss and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Trading CFDs and forex on leverage comes with a higher risk of losing money rapidly. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before making any trades.
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