Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is down 0.8% to trade at $330.43 at last look, paring a higher open. Last night, HSBC upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $366 from $260. The analyst in coverage waxed optimistic on Apple's product pipeline and enhanced AI capabilities.
Apple's muted price action means a lot more considering the rest of the Magnificent Seven stocks are in the red this morning. Nvidia is down 4%, making Apple the world's most valuable company at the moment.
Apple stock is stalling out just below its July 16 record high of $334.50. Thanks to a 15.7% July gain so far, the shares are now up 23% in 2026, with support at their 100-day moving average.
Options bears have been loading up. The stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.75 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 99% of readings from the past year. So while calls are still winning out on an absolute basis, puts have been much more popular than usual. Echoing this is Apple's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.74, which sits in the 92nd percentile of its annual range.
Whatever the direction, options are an intriguing route. The equity sports an Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecards (SVS) reading of 75 out of 100, suggesting Apple has realized higher volatility than its options have priced in over the past 12 months.
