Apple shares rise to high on AI iPhone anticipation

Apple's stock price hit an all-time high on Monday, following a significant increase in price targets by two investment firms. This increase in stock value comes ahead of the expected launch of the company's generative artificial intelligence iPhones. Apple shares rose as much as 2.9%, hitting a new intraday high of $237.23 and pushing Apple's market capitalization to a record $3.59 trillion. That number is more than $200 billion more than the next largest company, Microsoft, which stands at $3.36 trillion.

The rise in Apple's stock value comes on the back of 33% year-on-year growth in the company's sales in India, suggesting strong potential for global growth. This comes despite concerns about declining sales in its key China segment. Analysts at Loop Capital and Morgan Stanley have also issued bullish notes on Apple's earnings potential as the debut of its first AI-powered iPhones is just months away.

Analysts at Loop Capital, led by Ananda Baruah, upgraded their recommendation on Apple stock from a hold to a buy, raising their price target on the stock from $231 to $300. That's the highest target of any analyst tracked by FactSet, implying a fair market value for Apple of $4.6 trillion, a 28% increase from its current position. The firm believes Apple has an opportunity to establish itself as the “base camp of choice for Gen AI,” drawing comparisons to how Apple capitalized on the initial launch of the iPod and iPhones over the past two decades.

Morgan Stanley, led by Erik Woodring, named Apple its top US hardware pick and raised its price target from $213 to $273, implying a 16% upside and a market cap of 4 .2 trillion dollars. The group also upgraded expectations for the next iPhone refresh cycle, projecting around 498 million new iPhone sales in its 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, and $488 billion in revenue from iPhone during this period.

Apple officially announced its plans for generative AI “Apple Intelligence” on June 10, which includes the integration of the popular chatbot ChatGPT into the iOS operating system, scheduled for a September release. Since that announcement, Apple shares have risen more than 20%, outpacing the S&P 500's 5% gain. Apple, which has been the world's largest company for most of the last decade, reclaimed its title as the world's largest company last month.