While its brick-and-mortar stores outside of China will remain closed, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced it is no longer limiting customers to two devices on online iPhone purchases. This announcement comes just a few days after the tech giant instituted the limit. Also weighing on the shares is a price-target cut from Instinet to $225 from $295. Shares of AAPL stock are down 1.2%, last seen trading at $226.42.
Apple stock spent last week consolidating below the $260 mark. Despite today's pullback, AAPL remains up 16% in the last 12 months. Plus, the drop today appears to have run out of steam at the shares' 320-day moving average, a trendline that has not been breached on a closing basis since June 4.
Analysts remain bullish on AAPL stock. Of the 26 reporting firms, 20 rate it a “buy” or better. Additionally, five recommend a “hold” position, and just one analyst sports a “strong sell” position on the security. This is mirrored by the stock’s consensus 12-month price target of $319.15 which is a healthy 39.22% premium to its current levels.
Meanwhile, AAPL's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) sits at 0.83 and ranks in the 8th percentile of its annual range. This means that short-term options players have rarely been more call-heavy in the last 12 months. Additionally, Apple has been more volatile than expected in the last year. This is based on its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 99 (out of 100).