Bank of America Invests Heavily in Apple Amid Rising Stock Price
Bank of America Corp DE has purchased 127,820,329 shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock valued at approximately $36,986,090,000 during the second quarter. This new stake makes Apple comprise 2.4% of Bank of America Corp DE's investment portfolio, making it its sixth-largest holding.
According to a recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission, this purchase is not an isolated incident. Several other institutional investors have also increased their positions in Apple during the second quarter, including Sterling Wealth Management Inc., Evansbrook LLC, JMG Financial Group Ltd., Advocate Investing Services LLC, and Interactive Financial Advisors Inc.
Apple's stock price has been steadily increasing over the past month, gaining roughly 10% and approaching a potential buy point. This surge in interest has led to several analysts revising their price targets upwards, with Evercore ISI raising its target to $380 from $365 while maintaining an outperform rating.
However, not all news is positive for Apple. Bernstein warned that rising component costs could pressure margins and earnings in the December quarter, particularly as Apple introduces more expensive iPhones. Additionally, several analysts have expressed concerns about Apple's valuation and AI execution, citing Alphabet's Gemini ecosystem and monetization progress as a potential threat.