Apple Stock Poised To Reclaim $200 Level As Retail Investors Expect 'Explosive' Gains On US-China Trade Deal

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) stock is back on investors' radar after Washington and Beijing confirmed a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs following weekend trade talks in Switzerland.

When President Donald Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs in early April, Apple's stock was the worst hit, dropping over 7% in a single session. The stock came under more pressure over subsequent sessions and plunged to a low of $169.31 before recovering.

The extreme negativity toward Apple was due to anxiety over the impact of Trump tariffs on the company's top and bottom lines. Apple confirmed at its second-quarter earnings call that the China tariffs will shave $900 million off its bottom line. 

The company guided low-to-mid-single-digit year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth for the June quarter.

The Tim Cook-led company was rumored to have shifted much of the production of the U.S.-bound iPhones to India from China as a workaround for the tariffs.

Apple also faced pressure from a recent court ruling that ordered it to open its App Store to competition. The tech giant, however, has said it will ask the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the April 30 ruling.

Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said in a report released last week that details from Apple's 10-Q filing showed that Apple pulled forward components/finished goods to above-seasonal levels ahead of the April tariffs going into effect.

In the filing, Apple for the first time explicitly said tariffs could force actions, including "increasing the prices of its products and services." According to Woordring, this opens the door for potential pricing increases in the September quarter with the iPhone 17 launch.

However, Woodring said, "We still assume Apple is more likely to eliminate lower-end storage SKUs over raising like-for-like pricing with its nextiPhone launch."

 A U.S.-China trade deal, confirmed by both nations, should therefore remove an overhang that has stifled the Apple stock for much of the year. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Apple stock had turned to 'extremely bullish' (78/100) by early Monday, although message volume stayed 'extremely low.'

A watcher said the recent weakness was due to an overdue correction from the pre-earnings level. They see the stock returning toward its all-time high of over $260.

Another user said they saw the stock exploding during the premarket session.

In early premarket trading on Monday, Apple stock surged over 5%, although it is down over 20% year-to-date.

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