12 Best Debt-Free Stocks to Buy Now

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2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Potential Upside: 16.2%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 166

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is among the best debt-free stocks to buy now. On January 15, Reuters reported a significant development in India’s antitrust case against Apple over its anti-competitive policies on the App Store.

As per the report, India’s penalty rules use the company’s global revenue to calculate penalties, a practice Apple contends is unfair. If these rules are applied, Apple could face penalties of up to $38 billion, and the company is fighting another case against those rules in the Delhi High Court. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for January 27, as per Reuters.

However, the regulator, Competition Commission of India (CCI), contends that Apple has delayed responding to them for a year and has now issued a final warning to the company to respond within a week to avoid unilateral proceedings.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) didn’t respond to Reuters’ questions on the development.

Despite the concerns, analysts’ views on Apple remain reasonably favourable: nearly 60% of analysts covering it (per CNN data) rate it Buy, and the consensus 1-year median price target is $300, implying an additional 16% upside.

Recent analyst activity has been broadly positive. Around the end of last week, Evercore ISI reiterated Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as its “Top Pick,” raising its price target to $330 from $325 earlier, driven by higher earnings estimates. The analyst sees a strong demand for iPhones and a very small impact from memory cost inflation, which helps improve earnings.

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