Apple stock has been the weakest performer among the Magnificent Seven tech stocks, significantly trailing the S&P 500, which gained 0.2% in 2025. Down 20% this year, Apple faces headwinds from antitrust concerns, tariffs, competition in China, and slower progress in AI development. However, its lag behind the broader market and megacap tech peers is signaling to Wall Street that it may be a buying opportunity.
Angela Palumbo for Barron’s:
BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan is one of Wall Street’s Apple optimists. He wrote in a research note on Monday that he sees a “significant,” long term opportunity for investors. He rates Apple stock at Buy with a $235 price target, which implies a 17% increase from Friday’s closing price of $200.85.
“We see Apple’s ecosystem and brand as key competitive advantages, with ability to open up new addressable markets through its deep R&D investments,” Mohan wrote. “This should help sustain growth even as the company faces regulatory, competitive and trade challenges.”
One reason for Mohan’s continued optimism is the vast number of Apple products now in use around the world. He put the number at more than 2.3 billion, saying it makes results somewhat predictable because many users will inevitably upgrade their devices due to age, breakages, or just plain desire for a new gadget.
“Even in a tougher economic year, a certain base level of iPhone upgrades will happen…and services revenue from subscriptions will largely continue,” Mohan wrote. “This provides a floor under Apple’s financial performance.”
The problem for customers — and investors — is that Apple Intelligence isn’t a game changer yet, and the rollout of certain AI features has been delayed. It likely will take time for Apple to perform well in the race, but waiting could pay off if the company becomes a leader in on-device AI, also known as AI at the edge.
MacDailyNews Take: We’d like to see Apple at least add to Apple Intelligence’s GenAI options beyond just OpenAI’s ChaptGPT as it’s not even best-in-class in many areas and many other firms are improving/scaling rapidly.
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