Apple is the stock in many investors' eyes again. Its market cap just popped above $3 trillion, joining Nvidia and Microsoft in the elite $3 trillion-plus club. On Thursday, the consumer electronics giant's IBD Relative Strength (RS) Rating improved to 71, up from 67. Apple stock was down fractionally Thursday afternoon.
Apple's key ratings languished as it went through a difficult period early this year. Its RS Rating dropped to a dismal 27 low three months ago. The upgraded 71 rating means that Apple stock is outperforming 71% of all stocks.
Apple Stock Ratings Shine
Among its other ratings Apple has a respectable 81 Composite Rating out of 99, and a strong 87 Earnings Per Share Rating. Tellingly, it carries a B Accumulation/Distribution Rating on an A+ to E scale. That means institutional investors such as insurance investment funds and mutual funds are buying its stock fairly aggressively. Institutional buying and selling accounts for about 70% of market trades.
The stocks that go on to make the biggest gains often have an RS Rating of over 80 as they launch their biggest climbs. See if Apple can continue to show renewed price strength and hit that benchmark.
Can You Really Time The Stock Market?
Apple stock is building a cup without handle with a 199.62 buy point. It looks like it's near completing the right side of the cup. Apple traded around 195.60 Thursday afternoon, down fractionally for the day. However, it closed higher the prior eight days in a row. It was nearing break-even at midday Thursday.
Fundamentals OK But Still Need Work
Apple's fundamentals are OK but need to continue improving. It showed 1% earnings growth in its most recent report, to $1.53 per share. Sales slid 4% to $90.8 billion. Analysts expect the company to provide details of its artificial intelligence strategy at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 10-14. That could give Apple stock a lift, analysts say.
Apple stock holds the No. 2 rank among its peers in the nine-stock Telecom-Consumer Products industry group. Motorola Solutions is the top-ranked stock in the group.
IBD's proprietary RS Rating identifies technical performance by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that shows how a stock's price performance over the last 52 weeks stacks up against all the other stocks in our database.
Please follow James DeTar on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JimDeTar
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