Apple stock could sell off after the company finally announces its iPhone 17 series smartphones next month, a Wall Street analyst said Monday.
BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan said expectations are tempered for the upcoming product launch, likely set for Sept. 9. The new handsets are seen as being just incremental updates to the current iPhone 16 family. The biggest change will be the addition of a superthin iPhone Air model, based on news leaks.
Mohan rates Apple stock as buy with a price target of 250. But he cautioned that shares could drop after Apple debuts its iPhone 17 series.
"These events have traditionally been sell-the-news events," Mohan said in a client note. That's based on the old Wall Street saying of "Buy the rumor, sell the news."
On the stock market today, Apple stock dipped 0.3% to close at 227.16.
"Past events have seen the stock pull back after the event, only to recover 30-60 days post event," he said. "If Apple surprises with a compelling demo of Apple Intelligence/third-party integrations or with any unexpected price increases, the stock may fare better than past events."
AI News Would Be Welcome
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Apple is exploring the idea of using Google's Gemini artificial intelligence technology to revamp its Siri voice assistant. The new AI-enabled Siri is scheduled to launch next year.
"We believe an Apple-Google partnership to revamp Siri would be well received given concerns around Apple falling behind competitors in regards to AI," Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani said in a client note Friday. "While we think Apple could develop its own upgrade internally, a Gemini-powered upgrade to Siri would accelerate Gen AI adoption and allow for maintaining a less capital-intensive approach to AI."
Daryanani rates Apple stock as outperform with a price target of 250.
As for the iPhone 17, Mohan is not factoring in a major upgrade cycle tied to the new handsets.
In addition to the iPhone 17, Apple could announce new smartwatches and AirPods wireless earbuds, he said.
Is Apple Stock A Buy Now?
Apple stock is in a 34-week consolidation pattern with a buy point of 260.10, according to IBD MarketSurge charts.
Apple stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 82 out of 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. IBD's Composite Rating combines five separate proprietary ratings into one easy-to-use rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
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