Apple is getting ready to reveal the latest iPhones, watches, and AirPods on September 10 in what will be its biggest event of the year. The date has not been officially announced yet, but according to Bloomberg, that is what they are aiming for, with the new products likely to hit shelves on September 20, as they usually do each year.
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There will undoubtedly be a lot of hype around the iPhone 16 series, especially since it is expected to come with major software upgrades like Apple Intelligence (Apple’s artificial intelligence features). Although the firm has been slower than some of its competitors in rolling out AI features, investors like billionaire Daniel Loeb believe this will be a major catalyst for the share price, as it will lead to a forced upgrade cycle.
And Apple will take all the help it can get, as its iPhone sales have been struggling lately in China. In fact, sales dropped by 6.5% in the region during the third quarter, which was a bigger drop than analysts expected.
Hedge Fund Ownership Has Fallen
Although Loeb is confident in Apple’s outlook, it seems like money managers have been dumping AAPL stock. Indeed, hedge funds decreased their holdings by a whopping 386.3 million shares in the past quarter. However, it is worth mentioning that Warren Buffett sold 389.4 million shares during this time frame and still holds another 400 million.
Although it is unclear why Buffett sold so many shares, he most likely wanted to rebalance his portfolio and take profits after his initial position grew to more than half of his entire portfolio. In addition, when adjusting for Buffett’s massive sale, hedge fund holdings would have actually increased by 3.1 million during the second quarter.
Is Apple a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 24 Buys, eight Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 29% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $247.43 per share implies 9.08% upside potential.
