AAPL Stock Bucks Tech Rout: Retail Calls It 'Safe Haven' Ahead Of Q3 Report This Month

• Apple stock rose in Friday’s premarket trading and was flat at the last reading, while the broader tech sector was in the red. 
• Apple is scheduled to report its quarterly results on July 30.
• Stocktwits sentiment for AAPL was ‘bullish.’

Apple stock opened higher and traded near the flat line in premarket on Friday, bucking a broader market selloff led by semiconductor stocks, with some retail traders viewing the stock as a safe-haven play.

The resilience in Apple stock follows sharp gains in recent weeks, with shares hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, bolstering investor sentiment ahead of the iPhone maker’s fiscal third-quarter results.

Apple is up over 15% so far this month, putting the stock on pace for its best month in four years and making it the second-best performer among the Magnificent Seven. 

The outperformance is particularly notable as the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ) has dropped nearly 5% and the chip sector benchmark the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX).

Apple’s gains were likely aided by news from China, where the Cyberspace Administration approved the company’s generative AI for rollout. Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani said the decision removes the biggest regulatory hurdle for Apple Intelligence in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Analyst View On AAPL

On Thursday, HSBC upgraded its rating on AAPL stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ with a $366 price target, implying roughly 10% upside from Thursday’s close. 

Analysts, however, remain divided. Currently, 28 out of 47 rate the stock ‘Buy’ or higher, 16 rate it ‘Hold’ and three rate it ‘Sell’ or lower, according to Koyfin. Their average price target of $315.79 is more than 5% below the current stock price.

Retail View On AAPL

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for AAPL has climbed over the past week and was ‘bullish’ as of the last reading. “$AAPL is money from all memory memes and former AI darlings $SNDK $MU $WDC $AMD going into apple or something?” a trader speculated. 

Another wrote: “This is the only thing holding the market from a large dump! Insane strength!”

Apple is scheduled to report its quarterly results on July 30. Investors will be looking for clues on ongoing margin pressures from rising memory costs, iPhone demand trends, and the broader consumer spending environment amid persistent inflation.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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