Citi ups Apple target, places on ‘positive catalyst watch’

Citi analyst Atif Malik raised the firm’s price target on Apple (AAPL) to $275 from $255 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm also placed the shares on a “90-day positive catalyst watch.” Apple reported “better than feared” December quarter results and guided March quarter seasonally roughly in-line, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi sees release of iPhone SE4 in March and next Apple Intelligence software iOS 18.4 in April with big Siri update as positive catalysts for the stock. While Apple is behind on artificial intelligence and is catching up with a staggered Apple Intelligence release, its focus on end-to-end AI security from silicon to private servers is underappreciated, contends Citi. Further, the firm believes the recent DeepSeek breakthrough offering lower compute spend and optimized models running locally can help AI adoption on devices. Apple is Citi’s top hardware pick in 2025.