Apple's fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue beat analyst estimates
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stepped into the earnings confessional yesterday evening, reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that put Wall Street's estimates to shame. The tech giant saw upbeat results driven by strong demand for its 5G iPhones, while increasing stock buybacks by $90 billion; however, the company warned it could see blowback in the future as it continues to deal with an ongoing global semiconductor shortage. In response, AAPL was last seen up 1.8% at $135.93, while no less than 11 bull notes were dished out.
Today's positive price action has Apple stock cruising toward a sixth-straight win. While the shares have taken a breather since their Jan. 25 all-time high of $145.09, their 200-day moving average served as an effective springboard in March. The security boasts a more-than-respectable 91.8% year-over-year gain and is distancing itself from its year-to-date breakeven level.
Today's loftiest bull note came from Raymond James' $25 price-target hike from $160 to $185. As we noted last week when Apple announced some big investment news, the brokerage bunch was overwhelmingly optimistic.
Today, options traders are taking a greater-than-usual interest in the FAANG name. So far, over 302,000 calls and 113,000 puts have exchanged hands, which is triple the volume typically seen at this point. The two most popular contracts by far are the weekly 4/30 135- and 140-strike calls, meaning traders are speculating on even more upside for Apple stock by the time these options expire tomorrow.