What Happened?
Shares of iPhone and iPad maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) jumped 3.3% in the afternoon session after the successful launch of its new iPhone 17 lineup prompted a significant price target increase from analysts at JPMorgan.
The latest generation of iPhones hit stores worldwide, reportedly drawing long lines and stronger-than-expected demand, particularly for the high-end Pro models. This strong consumer appetite caught Wall Street's attention. In response, JPMorgan boosted its price target on Apple to $280 from $255, keeping its "Overweight" rating on the stock. The investment bank pointed to the robust early sales as a key reason for its optimism. Analysts at the firm now projected iPhone sales to reach 236 million units in fiscal year 2026, which they believed would fuel solid revenue growth for the tech giant.
The shares closed the day at $245.28, up 3.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Apple’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock dropped 3.3% as its highly anticipated iPhone 17 launch event on September 9 left some investors and analysts underwhelmed.
The stock's decline, which began after the event and continued into the next day, was attributed to several factors. Investors were likely unenthusiastic about the new devices, viewing them as offering only modest enhancements and incremental upgrades rather than revolutionary breakthroughs. This sentiment was compounded by a "sell-the-news" reaction, as many of the new features had been leaked beforehand, removing any element of surprise.
Apple is up 0.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $245.38 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $259.02 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Apple’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,229.
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