Apple shares rise on AI prospects

Apple shares closed up 2.5% on Monday after a longtime Apple analyst at Bernstein upgraded the stock to an “outperform” rating, highlighting to the prospects for increased iPhone sales driven by generative artificial intelligence updates.
Sinéad Carew for Reuters:
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Apple registered its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than two weeks after the upgrade, which marked the stock’s first “buy” equivalent rating from Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi since early 2018.
Sacconaghi upgraded the stock from “market perform” and wrote that Apple had been hurt by a weak iPhone 15 cycle as well as fears its China business is structurally impaired.
But the analyst argued that China weakness is “more cyclical than structural” and that its business there has “exhibited much higher volatility” than Apple’s overall business.
And Sacconaghi wrote that “replacement cycle tailwinds and incremental generative AI features set up Apple well for a strong iPhone 16 cycle.”
The analyst had kept a “market-perform” rating on Apple since he downgraded it from “outperform” in February 2018.

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MacDailyNews Take: ‘Twas Gurman’s weekend news that Apple has renewed talks with OpenAI regarding artificial intelligence capabilities that juiced AAPL, not Sacconaghi’s ludicrously late upgrade.
(AAPL closed February 2018 at a split-adjusted $42.23. Those waiting for Toni’s oh-so golden advice missed $127 per share plus dividends.)
That ought to goose AAPL today, at least. –