Apple Is DJIA’s Best Performing Stock of 2017

May 6, 2017 by Paul Ausick

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) added $5.31 last week (3.7%), posting a new 52-week high on Friday. The company remains the best-performing stock by a wide margin among the 30 equities that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). The company’s stock is up 28.61% year to date, well above second place Boeing’s 18.84% improvement.

Apple reported earnings last Tuesday. Earnings per share of $2.10 and revenues of $52.9 billion were mostly in line with estimates of $2.02 in earnings per share and $52.97 billion in revenues. In the same period last year, Apple reported earnings per share of $1.90 and revenues of $50.56 billion.

Apple shipped nearly 51 million iPhones in its second fiscal quarter, down by 430,000 year over year, but revenue was up from $32.86 billion to $33.25 billion.

iPad shipments and revenues dropped while unit sales and revenues from Mac sales both rose. Services revenues rose by more than $1 billion year over year.

Analysts uniformly maintained Buy ratings and some raised their price targets. Check out our full review of analyst action, but here are a few highlights:

  • Merrill Lynch reiterated a Buy rating and $155 price target.
  • Credit Suisse reiterated a Buy rating and $170 price target.
  • BTIG kept its Buy rating and raised its price target from $165 to $184.
  • Cowen kept its Buy rating and raised its price target from $155 to $160.

Apple shares closed at $148.96 on Friday, in a 52-week trading range of $89.47 to $148.98. The consensus 12-month price target is $148.95 in a price target range of $104 to $185 per share. Last week’s changes may not all be included in the consensus yet.

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