Wall Street Bull Says Apple Is Ready To Explode — 26% Rally Seen As iPhone 17 And AI Upgrade Cycle Kick In
Wedbush Securities Managing Director Dan Ives has raised his price target for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $350, projecting a potential upside of approximately 26% from current trading levels.
Check out AAPL’s stock price here.
The iPhone 17 Supercycle And AI Revolution
In a statement released on X on Monday, Ives cited stronger-than-expected sales of the iPhone 17 and the tech giant's accelerating momentum in artificial intelligence (AI) as the catalysts for the bullish revision.
According to Ives, Apple is currently executing “above Street” expectations, particularly regarding the iPhone 17.
He noted that sales have been trending positively heading into the year-end, with specific strength observed in the critical Chinese market—a region that has recently been a battleground for handset manufacturers.
However, the core of the upgrade centers on 2026. Ives posits that the coming year will be the definitive period where Apple “actually enters the AI Revolution.”
This aligns with his long-standing thesis of a “consumer AI revolution,” where he forecasts a hardware supercycle that will keep the Cupertino-based company at the forefront of the consumer technology landscape for years to come.
The Broader Tech Bull Market
The Apple upgrade arrives amidst Ives' broader declaration that the market is in the early stages of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
While optimistic about Apple’s consumer reach, Ives emphasizes that the infrastructure of this revolution is being built on Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) silicon.
He famously noted that “it's Nvidia's world, everyone else is paying rent,” highlighting a supply-demand imbalance where demand for chips outstrips supply by a factor of twelve.
Ives characterizes the current “risk-on” environment with a colorful metaphor: if the AI bull market party began at 9 p.m., it is currently only 10:30 p.m., with the growth trajectory expected to last until “4 a.m.”
He dismisses concerns of a tech bubble, arguing that massive capital expenditures by Big Tech—likened to “building Vegas in the desert”—are necessary foundations for the next decade of growth.
See Also: Dan Ives’ Eightco Holdings Is Ripe For A Buy As Value Ranking Jumps Amid Worldcoin Treasury Momentum
Macro Optimism and Other “Table Pounders”
Looking beyond Apple and Nvidia, Ives sees a favorable macroeconomic path ahead, predicting the S&P 500 could hit 7,000 in the coming weeks and the Nasdaq could eventually surge to 30,000.
He advises investors to look for “table pounder” opportunities in the “second and third derivatives” of AI, identifying companies like Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)—for which he has set an $800 bull case—as essential holdings for this cycle.
AAPL Underperforms Market In 2025
While AAPL shares have risen 11.32% year-to-date, the Nasdaq 100 index has returned 22.49% in the same period. Over the year, Apple has gained only 14.71%. On Friday, the stock fell 0.68% to $278.78 apiece.
It maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long term, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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