Apple's stock surged to a record high Tuesday, reaching a new peak after the company unveiled its AI platform, Apple Intelligence. The stock jumped 7% to close at a record high, marking its best single-day performance since November 2022, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
D.A. Davidson managing director Gil Luria praised Apple's introduction of unprecedented AI capabilities, upgrading the stock to Buy from Neutral and raising the price target to $230 from $200, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
Apple's long-awaited foray into the generative AI space, "Apple Intelligence," was announced during the company's WWDC conference. The platform, integrated across Apple's hardware and software products, will offer a range of features, including an overhaul of Siri and integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Key features of the launch include Siri's enhanced abilities, such as parsing messages for addresses and finding photos in a phone's library based on voice prompts, as reported by CNBC.
Analysts anticipate the AI features driving consumers to upgrade their iPhones, potentially accelerating device replacement cycles, according to Yahoo Finance. Bank of America analysts maintained a buy rating on Apple's stock, foreseeing an upgrade cycle for AI-enabled iPhones and citing potential for gross margin upside and services growth. Evercore analysts expressed increased confidence in Apple's AI strategy, particularly regarding its potential to kick off an iPhone super cycle, as per CNBC.
Apple's stock surge follows a period of excitement fueled by rumors around the company's AI announcements, Yahoo Finance reports. After briefly being surpassed by Nvidia, Apple reclaims its position as the second-most-valuable company in the world, behind Microsoft, with a market capitalization exceeding $3.1 trillion.
Analysts believe the new AI features could reignite Apple's growth, potentially accelerating from low single digits to mid- or high-single digits over the next year or two, according to CNBC.
