Both Morgan Stanley and D.A. Davidson chimed in on the FAANG stock
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) -- which briefly had competition in the $1 trillion market cap club -- has had a tremendous year, with the shares up 33.8% so far in 2018, the best among Dow stocks. This bullish momentum is continuing today thanks to a pair of new price-target hikes. AAPL stock is fresh off a record high of $229.67, though it was last seen trading down 0.9% at $226.35.
Morgan Stanley, for instance, raised its AAPL price target to $245 from $232, with the brokerage firm waxing optimistic on the tech giant's plans to spend $1 billion on original video content and the growth potential of Apple Video. Elsewhere, D.A. Davidson hiked its price target on the security to $265 from $230.
More broadly speaking, analysts are mixed on the FAANG stock -- though it boasts Warren Buffett as one of its biggest fans. While 11 brokerages maintain a "buy" or better rating, 13 call Apple a lukewarm "hold." Plus, the average 12-month price target of $222.42 stands at a discount to current trading levels. Analysts could continue to raise their projections on AAPL should it continue to explore record-high territory.
Elsewhere, short-term options traders are more put-heavy than usual on Apple, per its Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.25, which ranks in the 92nd annual percentile. In the front-month series, heavy accumulations of open interest are found at the September 165 and 210 puts, both of which have seen some buy-to-open activity at the major options exchanges.