Stock Update (NASDAQ:AAPL): Will Alphabet overtake Apple as No.1?

[at Investopedia] – With the difference in market cap between Apple and Alphabet at only $13.5 billion as of January 28, 2016, Alphabet appears poised to surpass Apple as the world’s most valuable company. Read more on this. Apple Inc. (AAPL) , valued at $529.78B, started the session at $94.52. Shares have traded today between $94.35 and $95.68 per share with a trailing 52-week range being $92.00 to $134.54. Priced at 10.28x this year’s forecasted earnings, AAPL shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry ’s 7.51x forward p/e ratio. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $2.08 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.08%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 37 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $2.01 per share, which would be $0.32 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.45 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $9.15 is a $0.07 worse when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $52.35 Billion. If realized, that would be a 9.76% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, BofA/Merrill upgraded AAPL from Neutral to Buy (Jan 12, 2016). Previously, Mizuho upgraded AAPL from Neutral to Buy. When considering if perhaps the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $137.05, which is 45.00% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:AAPL) Similar Articles: Company Update: Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) – As Apple shares sink, Alphabet closes in on its market cap Stock Update: Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) – How Apple could lose its place as world’s biggest company Stock Update (NASDAQ:AAPL): Apple Music Comes to Alphabet’s Android