AAPL Stock Hits Fresh Record As July Rally Nears Best Month In Nearly 4 Years — HSBC Sees Another 10% Upside

• HSBC upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold,’ and placed a $366 price target.
• Overall, analysts had mixed ratings on the stock and expected it to give up its recent gains.
• Stocktwits sentiment for AAPL was ‘bullish’ on Thursday.

Apple Inc.‘s shares rose 1.8% on Thursday to a fresh record high and extended those gains in overnight trading, as investors continued to take note of the stock’s unusual strength in recent weeks, prompting at least one analyst to upgrade the shares to a ‘Buy’ rating.

Apple shares have climbed 15.2% in July, 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% this month amid a sharp selloff in chip stocks.

On Thursday, HSBC upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold,’ and placed a $366 price target, which implies a 10% upside from the AAPL’s closing price on Thursday.

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 over 5% below current stock level.

Recent Catalysts For AAPL

Apple has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after raising prices across its MacBook, iPad, HomePod and Apple TV lineup, with indications from the company that iPhone prices could be next. Investors are also closely watching the company’s leadership transition. John Ternus will take over as CEO on Sept. 1, succeeding Tim Cook.

On Thursday, Apple raised the price of AppleCare+ service subscriptions for Macs and iPads – $0.5 increase in the monthly plans and $5 in the annual – for new sign-ups.

Separately, The Information reported citing its sources that Apple is reportedly eyeing companies to bolster its efforts to make server processors for running AI. The iPhone maker has approached chip startups to gauge their interest in a buyout and has spoken with bankers ​about possible deals, the report said.

Retail View On AAPL

AAPL was trending among the top 10 tickers on Stocktwits Thursday evening. The retail sentiment for the stock has climbed over the past week and was ‘bullish’ as of the last reading.

“AAPL good run, can it go a bit more ? Sure but why play with your profits if your in low. Take some home,” a trader wrote.

Some, however, were skeptical of the gains and whether they would sustain. A trader said: “AAPL Cyclical, rotation. Whatever you wanna call it. Semis, Google, NVDA RED and this one is at ATH? Regardless of the lack of innovation, just buybacks mostly and the "rotation". Insane!”

Apple is scheduled to report its fiscal third quarter results on July 30.

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