In less than 24 hours, Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) WWDC event went from the latest meme to the core reason Apple is set to reclaim its spot atop US big tech giants. While consumers are still waiting to hear how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will meaningfully impact their experience, analysts are ecstatic about its business potential, observes Tom Bruni, head of market research at The Daily Rip by Stocktwits.
On Tuesday, consumer tech giant Apple put the broader market on its back, with its 7% gain contributing 42 bps of performance to the S&P 500 and 54 bps to the Nasdaq 100. Nearly every other sector closed in negative territory, with financials leading lower.
What happened? D.A. David analyst Gil Luria upgraded the stock from neutral to buy, raising his price target from $200 to $230. He noted that Apple’s new backward-compatible AI features will help drive a much-needed iPhone upgrade cycle.
Since only 5% of the company’s installed base is iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max phones, the vast majority of users who want to access these features will have to pay up to get them.
Other fundamental analysts agreed with the sentiment and believe AI will be the key driver for the iPhone’s next “supercycle.” As for technical analysts, Tuesday’s breakout to new all-time highs is enough to put the stock back in play.
While investors and traders may express their skepticism about AI and its impact on a company’s business, they are still willing to pay a premium to gain exposure to the space. That’s true whether it’s in the public markets via Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apple, and others…or in the private markets, where Paris-based AI startup Mistral AI raised another $640 million at a $6 billion valuation.
