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Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: ticker: AAPL) is a multinational technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells consumer electronics, software, and services. According to their latest annual filing, Apple has a workforce of more than 160,000 full-time employees and holds the top spot as the world’s largest corporation, with a market value (market capitalisation) of US$3.516 trillion.
Apple’s product categories include the iPhone (the company’s primary line of smartphones based on its iOS operating system; the latest design is the iPhone 16 & iPhone 16 Pro), the Mac, iPad, Wearables, Home and Accessories, while the services side of the company focusses on Advertising, Cloud Services, Digital Content, and Payment Services (this includes Apple Pay and Apple Card).
As an over-the-counter derivative financial instrument, Contracts for Differences (CFDs) are agreements between two parties to speculate or hedge across global markets without owning the underlying asset. Share CFDs enable investors to take a position based on a stock's underlying price movement, usually traded on margin (leverage). Regardless of whether an investor trades Apple, another stock, or even Forex, Commodities, or Digital Currencies, all transactions are settled in cash. Unlike some futures and options contracts, CFDs do not permit physical delivery.
Understanding how margin and leverage work is vital if you are considering investing using CFDs. By trading on margin, investors leverage their account equity to trade larger position sizes than they could if using a cash account which does not involve leverage. For example, if Apple is hypothetically trading at US$300.00 and you wanted to purchase 20 shares, this would equal an initial investment value of US$6,000. A CFD investor, on the other hand, could trade an equivalent position size by only ‘putting up’ 20% of the initial investment value: US$1,200. Investors will also need to consider fees and commissions when trading CFDs as well as physical shares.
1. Open an FP Markets Forex and CFD Trading Account
If you are new to trading or want to start trading with FP Markets, opening a Forex and CFD trading account can be done by simply clicking the ‘OPEN LIVE’ tab in the upper right corner of the main webpage. Following this, fill out the Account Application and register for your account.
2. Download your Trading Platform
With the right trading platform, investors can easily navigate global markets, adapt charts to suit personal preferences and seamlessly execute buy and sell orders. At FP Markets, all platforms are available via the Client Portal. Once your account application is completed, you can log in to the Portal (using the login credentials sent to your registered email address) and select your preferred trading platform. Investors who predominantly trade Share CFDs opt for MetaTrader 5 (MT5) or cTrader.
3. Find the AAPL Ticker
The AAPL ticker can be found by adding the stock to MT5’s Market Watch (Ctrl+M). Simply type ‘AAPL’ at the bottom of the Market Watch to create an additional row for the stock. If you prefer displaying all the financial instruments FP Markets offers, right-click the Market Watch space and select ‘Show All’.
Once you’ve located the AAPL ticker, to open the AAPL chart, you may drag and drop the stock to the chart’s interface or right-click the AAPL stock in Market Watch and click ‘Chart Window’.
4. Place the Buy or Sell Order
While short-term day traders and scalpers may opt to buy and sell through MT5’s one-click trading feature (Alt+T – see image to the right), most investors use the order window (F9 – see image to the left).
Before clicking either the buy or sell button, investors must configure the order window depending on their trading strategy. This includes entering Order Types, Volume, Stop-Loss and Take-Profit levels.
Share CFDs:
Apple (AAPL) Stock Price Chart
Apple reported quarterly revenue of US$85.78 billion for Q3 24, up 5% YoY (year over year).
Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO, noted that the company's record business performance generated Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth of 11% and nearly US$29 billion in operating cash flow, allowing the company to return over US$32 billion to its shareholders. Maestri added that the installed base of active devices reached a new all-time high across all geographic segments.
Although global iPhone shipments rose by 3.5% YoY in Q3 24 (according to IDC data), the stock fell after the highly-anticipated iPhone 16 was launched on 20 September, with some analysts citing growing competition from Huawei.
However, the overall picture for the stock is optimistic after recently hitting an all-time high of US$237.49 on 15 October. This surge comes just ahead of the company's 'Apple Intelligence' release on October 28. Additionally, the company has more products lined up for launch this month, including new powered Macs and iPad models, which could further boost product demand and investor confidence if successful.
According to Refinitiv data, projections show that 73% of analysts are bullish about Apple; 25% recommend a Hold, while 2% suggest a Sell. The stock's current mean (median) price target is US$240.78 (US$243.00).
The share price of AAPL climbed to fresh record highs at US$237.49 on Tuesday, eclipsing its prior record of US$237.23 on 15 July. From a technical standpoint, the trend is favouring buyers at the moment, though to explore higher terrain, weekly channel resistance, taken from the high of US198.23, must be engulfed. However, weekly support is seen at US$206.93 in the event of a downside move. Meanwhile, on the H4 timeframe, resistance-turned-support entered the frame at US$232.85 yesterday. Demand is seen lower on the curve at US$227.24-229.79, closely shadowed by another layer of support from US$233.09.
Current H4 support will be watched closely for dip-buying opportunities in light of the recent record high. At the same time, traders will be cognisant of the weekly channel resistance in play. As such, conservative traders may wait and see if the stock breaks north of US$237.49 before committing.
If you want to become a part owner in a company, investing in physical shares is an option to explore. Shares of a company are sold to investors to help the business raise money to fund growth and fulfil debt obligations, etc.
However, the value of your investment depends on the performance of the share price. By investing in physical shares, investors may also be entitled to dividend payments and voting rights.
An alternative to investing in physical stocks is using futures and options derivatives contracts. The former represents a contract that obligates both buyer and seller to buy and sell the underlying asset at a pre-determined price and future date (expiration date). However, most futures traders tend to close out their positions before the expiration date, thus settling the trade in cash. An options contract, on the other hand, gives the contract holder (the buyer) the right to buy and sell (but not the obligation) an underlying asset at a certain price on a certain date. In return, the contract holder must pay the seller a premium. Should the contract holder decide to exercise their right, this would create an obligation for the seller.
Common underliers in the futures and options market are physical underliers, like gold, silver and oil, and financial underliers, such as bonds and stocks.
As a pooled investment fund, an ETF – particularly those that are passively managed and track an index like the S&P 500 or the EURO STOXX 50 – blends the advantages of a fund that can be traded through a stock exchange like a common stock.
Although single-stock ETFs are available, most investors invest in passive ETFs for diversification benefits and liquidity. Therefore, investing in passive ETFs will not precisely mimic Apple's price movement, but it will allow investors to create a low-cost, diversified portfolio with ‘exposure’ to Apple.
1. Does AAPL pay a dividend?
Apple does pay a dividend. As of writing, the company’s annual dividend yield is 0.43%.
2. What are the major differences between CFDs and physical shares?
While similarities between CFDs and physical shares exist, key differences include where both investment vehicles are traded (CFDs trade in the over-the-counter market while physical shares are traded on a formal exchange), ownership rights (CFDs are always cash-settled investments and do not bestow ownership rights, though physical shares provide partial ownership of the company), and finally leverage (CFDs offer greater leverage options than physical shares; the majority of investors tend to trade the latter using a cash account).
3. Can I trade AAPL on MT5?
With FP Markets, AAPL can be traded on both MT5 and cTrader.
4. What are the trading hours for AAPL?
The trading hours for AAPL are between 16:30 and 23:00 GMT+3 (Monday-Friday).
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