Is Apple Stock Underperforming the Nasdaq?
Apple Inc. (AAPL), headquartered in Cupertino, California, remains a leading force in the global technology sector. The company designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. With a market cap of $3.4 trillion, Apple also offers payment, digital content, cloud and advertising services primarily in consumer, small & mid-sized business, education, enterprise and government markets worldwide.
Companies worth $200 billion or more are generally described as “mega-cap stocks,” and AAPL definitely fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the consumer electronics industry. Apple revolutionized personal technology, leading the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, providing seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empowering people with breakthrough services.
Despite its notable strength, AAPL slipped 10.6% from its 52-week high of $260.10, achieved on Dec. 26, 2024. Over the past three months, AAPL stock has gained 16%, outperforming the Nasdaq Composite’s ($NASX) 13.6% gains during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of AAPL plunged 7.1% on a YTD basis but rose 2.7% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming NASX’s YTD gains of 12.4% and 23.6% returns over the last year.
To confirm the bullish trend, AAPL has been trading above its 50-day moving average since late June, with slight fluctuations. The stock is trading above its 200-day moving average since early August.
AAPL’s underperformance is attributed to global trade uncertainty, potential tariff hikes, and regulatory pressures affecting its production plans, as well as rising AI rivalries that are weighing on investor sentiment.
On Jul. 31, AAPL shares closed down marginally after reporting its Q3 results. Its EPS of $1.57 surpassed Wall Street expectations of $1.42. The company’s revenue was $94 billion, topping Wall Street forecasts of $88.9 billion.
In the competitive arena of consumer electronics, Sony Group Corporation (SONY) has taken the lead over Apple, showing resilience with a 32.3% uptick on a YTD basis and a solid 44.7% gain over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are reasonably bullish on AAPL’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 38 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $235.44 suggests a potential upside of 1.2% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com