{"id":879959,"date":"2025-12-23T00:21:55","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T06:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/23\/apple-aapl-stock-wedbush-raises-price-target-on-ai-strategy-shift-and-strong-iphone-sales\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T00:21:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T06:21:55","slug":"apple-aapl-stock-wedbush-raises-price-target-on-ai-strategy-shift-and-strong-iphone-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/23\/apple-aapl-stock-wedbush-raises-price-target-on-ai-strategy-shift-and-strong-iphone-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple (AAPL) Stock: Wedbush Raises Price Target on AI Strategy Shift and Strong iPhone Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"post-144225\">\n<div>\n<h2>TLDR<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Wedbush raised Apple\u2019s price target to $350 from $320, maintaining an Outperform rating on expectations that 2026 will mark Apple\u2019s entry into the AI Revolution.<\/li>\n<li>iPhone 17 sales are trending well heading into year-end, including strong performance in China, exceeding Street growth expectations for the December quarter.<\/li>\n<li>Apple is expected to announce a partnership with Google Gemini in early 2026, which Wedbush views as a game changer for both companies.<\/li>\n<li>AI researcher Amar Subramanya will replace John Giannandrea as senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, bringing experience from Microsoft and 16 years at Google.<\/li>\n<li>Wedbush estimates AI monetization could add $75 to $100 per share to Apple\u2019s valuation over the coming years, with no AI premium currently priced into the stock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>\n\ud83d\udca5 Find the Next KnockoutStock!<br \/>\nGet live prices, charts, and KO Scores from <a href=\"https:\/\/knockoutstocks.com\">KnockoutStocks.com<\/a>, the data-driven platform ranking every stock by quality and breakout potential.\n<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<p>Wedbush Securities lifted its price target on Apple stock to $350 from $320 while keeping an Outperform rating. The firm believes 2026 will finally be the year Apple enters the AI Revolution in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n<p>Analyst Dan Ives and his team see multiple catalysts driving the higher valuation. iPhone 17 sales are performing better than expected heading into the end of 2025.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/knockoutstocks.com\/stock\/AAPL\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/knockoutstocks.com\/api\/stocks\/AAPL\/embed\" alt=\"AAPL Stock Card\"><br \/>\nApple Inc., AAPL<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>China represents a particularly bright spot in the sales picture. The December quarter is shaping up to deliver growth that beats Wall Street expectations. Holiday season demand appears healthy across Apple\u2019s product lines.<\/p>\n<p>The price target increase reflects Wedbush\u2019s view that <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/apple-google-sound-alarm-on-expanding-spyware-campaign-across-80-countries\/\">Apple<\/a> is starting to outline a real AI strategy. New leadership appointments signal the company is getting serious about catching up in this space.<\/p>\n<h2>Google Partnership Could Change Everything<\/h2>\n<p>The biggest development on the horizon is an expected partnership announcement with <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/alphabet-googl-stock-google-cloud-secures-multi-year-deal-with-ai-coding-startup-replit\/\">Google<\/a> Gemini in early 2026. Wedbush calls this a potential game changer for both tech giants.<\/p>\n<p>Apple\u2019s installed base includes 2.4 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones worldwide. Ives describes the current AI strategy as the \u201celephant in the room\u201d given this massive user base. The time has come for Apple to accelerate its AI efforts.<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr>\n<p><center><a href=\"http:\/\/coincentral.com\/out\/kosquare\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/square-anim.gif\"><\/a><\/center><\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<p>The monetization opportunity from AI features could add $75 to $100 per share to Apple\u2019s valuation in the coming years. That\u2019s pure upside that isn\u2019t baked into the current stock price, according to Wedbush.<\/p>\n<h2>Leadership Changes Signal New Direction<\/h2>\n<p>Apple recently announced that John Giannandrea will step down as senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy. He\u2019ll transition to an advisor role before retiring in spring 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Amar Subramanya will take over the position. He\u2019s joining Apple from <a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/microsoft-msft-stock-office-365-subscription-prices-rising-up-to-33-for-business-customers\/\">Microsoft<\/a> but spent 16 years at Google before that. At Google, he climbed from staff research scientist to vice president of engineering.<\/p>\n<p>Subramanya helped develop the Gemini AI assistant during his time at Google. Wedbush views him as the right hire at the right time for Apple\u2019s AI push.<\/p>\n<p>The firm believes outside hires are necessary to bring new culture and DNA to Apple\u2019s AI efforts. The clock is ticking on getting the strategy right heading into 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Tim Cook is expected to remain as CEO through at least the end of 2027. That timeline would let him guide Apple through this critical AI technology transition in Cupertino.<\/p>\n<p>Apple plans to launch an AI-powered version of Siri by mid-2026. The company needs to show it can compete with rivals who have moved faster on AI features.<\/p>\n<p>Wedbush sees no \u201cAI premium\u201d currently factored into Apple\u2019s stock price. This makes it a compelling large-cap tech name to own heading into year-end and 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The firm expects more outside hires from Cook and his team. These moves aim to get Apple on the right track with AI strategy and execution.<\/p>\n<p>Apple remains on the IVES AI 30 winner list. The stock is trading at $278.78 with a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38. The 52-week high stands at $288.62.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t Trader Edge<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/apple-aapl-stock-wedbush-raises-price-target-on-ai-strategy-shift-and-strong-iphone-sales\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TLDR Wedbush raised Apple\u2019s price target to $350 from $320, maintaining an Outperform rating on expectations that 2026 will mark Apple\u2019s entry into the AI Revolution. iPhone 17 sales are trending well heading into year-end, including strong performance in China, exceeding Street growth expectations for the December quarter. Apple is expected to announce a partnership<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":879960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[376,112],"tags":[5315,5272],"class_list":{"0":"post-879959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-apple","8":"category-stock","9":"tag-apple","10":"tag-stock"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}