Apple CEO Tim Cook greets customers as he arrives for the Vision Pro headphones launch at the Apple Store in New York City on February 2, 2024.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
Apple shares rose 4.3% to a stock price of $175.04 on Thursday. It’s the best day for Apple since May 5, 2023.
Apple’s rally came during a strong day for technology stocks, particularly artificial intelligence stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1.77%.
Apple shares are down more than 5% this year. On Thursday, analysts at JPMorgan wrote that sentiment about Apple shares is improving among hedge fund investors, partly due to the stock’s recent decline.
Despite some negative trends related to iPhone sales in China and recent news of canceled projects such as an attempt to build a car, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said investors may feel more comfortable with its current valuation after recent losses and the potential to benefit from artificial intelligence.
JPMorgan analysts have predicted a strong iPhone sales cycle in 2026 thanks to upcoming artificial intelligence features. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told investors to expect an AI announcement later this year. This is expected to happen during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference event in June.
“Hedge fund investors are increasingly preparing for the AI upgrade cycle opportunity, but uncertainty still surrounds whether the upgrade cycle will begin with iPhone 16 in September 2024 or iPhone 17 in September 2025,” he said. written Chatterjee.
Separately, Apple is also preparing new Mac laptops and desktops with next-generation “M4 chips” that emphasize artificial intelligence, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday. Apple declined to comment on the report. The current generation of Apple chips is called M3.