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Apple
The stock hit an intraday high early Monday as investors awaited the planned launch of a mixed reality headset and any potential artificial intelligence announcements.
Apple stock (ticker: AAPL) rose 1.5% to $183.59 shortly after opening, topping the previous intraday high of $182.94 since January 2022. The stock hit 183.99 $ at some point.
The stock is on course to break the tech giant’s closing record of $182.01, set in early January 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Anticipation of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which is due to begin on Monday and end on Friday, is likely driving these gains. The company is expected to launch a virtual reality and augmented reality headset, marking Apple’s entry into the metaverse.
Investors will also be eager to hear everything the company has to say about the AI, or its strategy around the technology, that took the market by storm in 2023.
Evercore ISI analysts see the stock climbing even higher, raising their Apple stock price target to $210 from $190 after conducting extensive research on the company. “Apple remains positioned to maintain single-digit and double-digit sales [earnings per share] growth on [the] coming years with less volatility and high consistency,” they wrote. Analysts reiterated an outperformance rating on Apple stock.
They expect Apple’s VR/AR offering to contribute $10 billion in sales and 20 cents in earnings per share, or about 4%, annually five years from now. “This is an opportunity that has been speculated on for some time and would be a great way for Apple to build on the incredible success of its Wearables business,” they wrote.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@barrons.com