Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) set several company records with first-quarter financial results that beat analyst estimates. Here’s where analysts see the stock heading next.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Apple with a price target of $350.
Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett maintained a Neutral rating and increased the price target from $250 to $267.
Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $320 to $330
DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria maintained a Neutral rating with a price target of $270
JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $315 to $325.
Needham analyst Laura Martin maintained a Hold rating with no price target.
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A strong quarter of iPhone sales and guidance keep Apple on the Wedbush Best Ideas List moving forward.
Ives said he hopes that AI is “on the menu soon” for Apple. The analyst said more details on Apple’s AI roadmap are expected at the company’s WWDC in June.
“While the timeline to integrate into Siri is longer than we had expected, Gemini announcements were necessary moves for Apple to deliver its own personal assistant within its hardware ecosystem,” Ives said.
The analyst said Apple can bring a new subscription-based revenue stream for its 2.5 billion worldwide users.
“We believe no ‘AI premium’ which could be worth $75-$100 per share is factored into Apple’s stock at current prices.”
A strong record-breaking quarter for Apple and the iPhone was nice, but Crockett is skeptical of how long the demand will last.
“History says this powerful iPhone cycle will probably continue for the year, then normalize,” Crockett said.
The analyst also highlighted supply constraints that could limit upside for Apple going forward.
“CEO Tim Cook said it wasn’t clear when supply constraints will be clear. But he wouldn’t quantify how much of an impact this had on sales.”
Crockett said the iPhone demand and sales are similar to past iPhone launches, viewed as replacement cycles. Those strong launches are often followed by much slower growth.
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A strong quarter and guidance could be overshadowing cost inflation concerns, Ng said in a new investor note.
The analyst said supply constraints also limited the upside for Apple in the quarter.
“Given these SOC (systems on a chip) constraints, we think there is an even greater likelihood that Apple likely will push the launch of the iPhone 18 based model and iPhone Air 2 from the Fall 2026 to the Spring 2027,” Ng said.
The analyst said Apple’s guidance for second-quarter operating expenses would mark the first time Apple’s opex increased quarter over quarter in a fiscal second quarter.
With rising Opex and potentially higher prices for memory, the analyst is cautious on margins going forward.
The iPhone acceleration in the first quarter was “significant,” Luria said in a new investor note.
The analyst said Apple Intelligence was a highlight in the quarter.
“Mr. Cook noted that the majority of enabled iPhones are now actively using Apple Intelligence while highlighting the features released since launch,” Luria said.
The analyst said Apple Intelligence could be a “larger factor” in purchase activity by consumers moving forward.
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A strong record-breaking quarter that showed Apple’s execution leadership should “calm investor nerves,” Chatterjee said in a new investor note.
“Within the broader upsides in iPhone demand, mix is a tailwind relative to prior years, indicating a greater mix of consumers opting for higher-end of the portfolio, including Pro and Pro Max,” Chatterjee said.
The analyst said this could reassure investors about concerns about any price increases for the upcoming iPhone 18.
“As investors look forward, it is important to note the strength in the revenue, which, along with the near-term visibility offered in relation to resiliency in Product gross margins near-term will drive upsides to consensus earnings expectations.”
Apple shares not having a huge reaction is highlighted by Martin in a new investor note.
The analyst said Apple stock may have limited upside due to margin compression and limits on AI growth.
“AAPL is partnering with GOOGL to build its AI foundation model. We see this as selling its soul/future to the devil,” Martin said.
The analyst argues that Apple should have paid Anthropic more for a deal to keep its data hidden from one of its primary competitors in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Martin said that Alphabet and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) are able to improve their own products and also improve their Cloud business that can charge other companies fees. Apple is only able to use GenAI to improve its own ecosystem.
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This article Apple ‘Selling Its Soul To The Devil’? Analyst Says Partnering With Alphabet Limits AI Upside originally appeared on Benzinga.com
