Apple (AAPL) shares snapped six straight sessions of gains, as the stock closed marginally lower at $270.6 on Friday.
The tech giant gained about 5% in the preceding six sessions. Overall, the stock rose over 8% so far this year, compared to the 16% rise in the broader S&P 500 Index.
AAPL is up nearly 6% over the past one month. The stock closed 0.6% high on Thursday at $271.40. October has been a favourable month for the company, with 16 sessions in green and six sessions in red.
Apple was in spotlight on Friday after Wall Street applauded the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results that topped estimates. But, its revenue attributed to the iPhone fell short of Wall Street’s forecast.
Looking at Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating, AAPL has a Hold rating with a score of 3.46 out of 5. The company received A+ in the prospect of profitability, while it got an F in the valuation factor.
Wall Street and Seeking Alpha analysts are, however, bullish on the stock. Turning to the Wall Street community, 29 analysts gave AAPL a Buy and above, 14 analysts have given the stock a Hold recommendation, and five recommended Sell or lower. Seeking Alpha analysts see the stock as a Buy.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel described Apple’s results as “solid” and said the guidance was “notable,” given that there will be double-digit growth in the iPhone and overall revenue.
“Apple’s brand and product ecosystem are second to none, and its growing Services business, along with new AI investments, should keep its cash flow strong over time,” noted a recent Seeking Alpha analysis by Grassroots Trading.
However, the analysis added that with AAPL stock trading at about 36x earnings and carrying higher valuation ratios than most of its peers, “buying more shares now means paying a steep price for that strength.”