Over the past week, Apple AAPL shares have rallied about 6.10%, pushing the stock up nearly 5.9% year to date. Gaining about 3.9% on Monday alone, shares of the tech giant hit an all-time high, driven by robust iPhone 17 sales in the United States and China.
According to a recent report by Counterpoint Research, as quoted on Yahoo Finance, in the first 10 days following the launch of the latest iPhone models, overall iPhone sales climbed 14% year over year, with sales of the standard iPhone 17 model surging by nearly one-third.
Per Mengmeng Zhang, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 17 offers a faster chip, enhanced display, increased base storage and an upgraded selfie camera, comparable to the price of iPhone 16, making the iPhone 17 an easy choice, as quoted on the abovementioned Yahoo Finance article.
Loop Capital upgraded its rating for the tech giant from Hold to Buy, stating that Apple is well-positioned for further gains as demand for the latest iPhone surpassed expectations, as quoted on CNBC. Evercore analysts are also upbeat, expecting Apple to deliver robust results when it reports earnings next week.
According to another CNBC article, per Evercore and Loop Capital reports, double-digit growth in Apple’s services and a multi-year phone cycle are expected, underlining the stock’s long-term upside.
Into AAPL’s Stock Outlook
Apple currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 2.04 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations made by 42 brokerage firms. The current ABR compares to an ABR of 2.09 a month ago based on 39 recommendations.
Of the 42 recommendations deriving from the current ABR, 21 are Strong Buy and two are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy, respectively, account for 50% and 4.76% of all recommendations. A month ago, Strong Buy made up 46.15%, while Buy represented 5.13%, indicating that the majority of the analysts remain bullish.
Based on short-term price targets offered by 36 analysts, the average price target for Apple comes to $250.03, with the forecasts ranging from a low of $180.00 to a high of $310.00. Currently, AAPL stock is priced at $262.24 (as of market close on Oct. 20) and has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), along with a Growth Score of B.
ETFs to Consider
Here, we have highlighted ETFs with exposure to Apple.
iShares U.S. Technology ETF IYW has an exposure of 14.47%.
iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF TOPT has an exposure of 13.77%.
Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF FTEC has an exposure of 13.42%.
Vanguard Information Technology ETF VGT has an exposure of 13.35%.
Shares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF IWY has an exposure of 12.82%.
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Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW): ETF Research Reports Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT): ETF Research Reports iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF (IWY): ETF Research Reports iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF (TOPT): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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