With a market cap of $3.6 trillion, Apple Inc. AAPL designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories, with the iPhone as its flagship product. The company also operates a growing Services segment, including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and various subscription-based offerings like Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade. 

Companies worth $200 billion or more are generally described as “mega-cap stocks,” and Apple definitely fits that description. Apple leads the wearables market with the Apple Watch and AirPods, strengthening its presence in personal health monitoring. It sells products through its stores, online, and third-party retailers worldwide.

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However, the Cupertino, California-based company declined 8.8% from its 52-week high of $260.10, recorded on Dec. 26, 2024. Over the past three months, shares of AAPL have gained over 1%, surpassing the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s XLK 3.9% decrease.

In the longer term, shares of Apple have surged 29.9% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming XLK’s 8.2% return over the same time frame. However, AAPL is down 5.2% on a YTD basis, lagging behind XLK’s 4.3% dip.

Yet, AAPL stock has been trading mostly above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since last year. 

On Jan. 27, the company unveiled the Black Unity Collection to honor Black History Month, featuring a special-edition Apple Watch Sport Loop, watch face, and wallpapers, alongside support for global organizations, while its shares rose 3.2% on the same day. 

Nevertheless, despite beating Wall Street expectations with Q1 2025 earnings of $2.40 per share and record revenue of $124.3 billion on Jan. 30, Apple shares fell marginally the next day due to weaker-than-expected iPhone sales, which declined during the holiday quarter. Investors were also cautious due to Apple’s muted 2025 revenue outlook and the delayed launch of the iPhone SE model, which was expected to boost upgrades. 

In comparison with its rival, Sony Group Corporation SONY has outpaced AAPL, gaining 18.3% on a YTD basis and surging 45.9% over the past 52 weeks.

Despite the stock’s underperformance relative to its peers, analysts are moderately optimistic about its prospects. AAPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the 37 analysts covering the stock. As of writing, AAPL is trading below the mean price target of $250.75.

On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal 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. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.