Apple (AAPL) often receives praise from investors, which is why it is the world’s most valuable company. And today was no different, as billionaire investor Dan Loeb, who runs hedge fund Third Point and owns 549,000 AAPL shares, declared that the tech giant has “significant upside ahead.” Loeb pointed to the company’s work in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) with its hardware as the catalyst that will push the stock higher.
Indeed, since “Apple Intelligence” (the company’s AI branding) will not be backwards compatible, customers are going to have to upgrade their phones to access its features, which will likely lead to a “forced upgrade cycle.” In addition, Loeb believes that Apple’s App Store will attract the most consumer-focused AI apps since it has an enormous user base.
Investor Sentiment for AAPL Stock Is Currently Negative
Despite Loeb’s praise, it would seem that the recent sentiment among TipRanks investors is currently negative. Out of the 752,505 portfolios tracked by TipRanks, 18.7% hold AAPL stock, and in the last seven days, 0.9% of those holding the stock decreased their positions. However, this seems like the result of some portfolio rebalancing rather than bearish outlooks.
In fact, the average portfolio weighting allocated towards AAPL among those who do have a position is 15.3%, which suggests that investors of the company are very confident about its future.
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 28% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $247.43 per share implies 9.92% upside potential.
