Analysts at Raymond James have increased their apple stock price target from $200 per share to $250 and said the company was a stable AI play against volatility.
The company, which stuck to its stock rating of Outperform, said in its preview for F3Q24 that it expected results to be slightly higher than the consensus and an outlook generally in line with previous forecasts.
This was based on China CAICT data, TSM results, and recent conversations in the Asian supply chain, all pointing to positive short-term trends for Mac and iPhone sales.
Raymond James analysts said that although short-term results may not alter the AI narrative significantly, they were still optimistic that future AI features would drive an iPhone upgrade cycle of multiple years.
Based on supply chain conversations, the analysts highlighted upward revisions in iPhone 16 builds for 2H24. They also noted material changes to the iPhone 17’s internals, indicating apple was focusing on enhancing on-device AI features.
apple ’s distinctive position in providing on-device AI features was due to a focus on privacy, advanced hardware capabilities, and its strong ecosystem.
The note stated the analysts believed apple was in a unique position to provide on-device AI features due to its privacy focus, hardware capabilities, and ecosystem strength.