CEO Tim Cook said it would be "very difficult" to predict the longer-term impact of tariffs
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was among several Big Tech giants reporting earnings this week. While the iPhone maker beat analysts' revenue profit and revenue estimates for the fiscal second quarter, CEO Tim Cook noted it would be "very difficult" to predict the longer-term impact of tariffs on its products.
In response, Jefferies and Rosenblatt downgraded AAPL to "underperform" and "neutral" from "hold" and "buy", respectively. The stock also attracted no fewer than five price-target cuts. Analysts were optimistic coming into today, with 23 of the 37 in question calling the stock a "buy" or better, while12-month consensus target price of $233.24 is a 14.5% premium to current levels.
Shares were last seen down 4.6% to trade at $203.54 at last glance, looking to snap an impressive eight-day win streak -- its longest since August. Though AAPL is down 18.7% so far in 2025, it still boasts a 17.6% year-over-year lead, with the 20-day moving average poised to contain this pullback.
Options volume is already running at double the intraday average amount, with 542,000 calls and 359,000 puts exchanged so far today. Expiring at the close, the weekly 5/2 205-strike call is leading the charge, with new positions being bought to open.
This penchant for bullish bets has been prevalent over the last 10 weeks. This is per the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.02 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 89% of readings from the past year.