Why Apple, Netflix, Intel, and More Are Trending Today

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) keeps on getting love from the sell-side community. Today RBC Capital was the latest firm to give Apple the thumbs up, with analyst Amit Daryanani raising his price target to $155 per share from $140, citing Apple’s promising services segment. Daryanani believes the services segment could increase its gross margins by between 40 and 60 basis points and give Apple’s overall valuation a lift. In addition, the analyst expects Apple to benefit from the iPhone 8 cycle, and anticipated friendly overseas cash repatriation policies. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is a major believer in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), having bought substantial shares over the last few quarters.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is in the spotlight after the company named Reid Hoffman as one of its board of directors. Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn, the business-focused social network that Microsoft bought for over $26 billion last year. Bulls hope that the LinkedIn purchase and Hoffman’s presence in the board will help Microsoft keep its number one position in enterprise and help Microsoft accelerate its already fast-growing cloud business. 126 top funds were long Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of December.

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) received another thumbs up from the sell-side this week, this time from Atlantic Equities. Analyst Lindsay Bettiol raised his rating on the railroad operator to ‘Overweight’ from the previous ‘Neutral’ and also set a price target of $57. Shares of the company have done very well, rallying over 34% year-to-date. 53 elite funds were long CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) as of the most recent 13-F reporting period, up 10 funds from the previous quarter.

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