Apple's AI Hardware Blitz Could Send The Stock 33% Higher, Says Wedbush's Dan Ives

Missed the AI angle

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes the launch lineup could help drive the next upgrade cycle for Apple, with the firm maintaining a $350 price target, implying roughly 33% upside from current levels.

According to Ives, the chips deliver over four times the peak GPU compute for AI compared with M4, alongside roughly 35% stronger graphics performance.

Apple paired the silicon with a refreshed Mac lineup, including new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, alongside a surprise entry: the MacBook Neo.

Ives believes the lineup could broaden the Mac base further, noting nearly half of Mac buyers remain new to the platform, leaving room for incremental growth.

Apple also introduced the iPhone 17e, powered by the A19 chip, designed to run generative AI models more efficiently.

For Ives, the takeaway is simple: Apple's expanding lineup of AI-enabled devices could set the stage for the next major hardware cycle — and potentially push the stock toward its $350 target.

Source: Sahm via Analyst: Dan Ives

NB: AI Silicon at the core…

AI does play a part but it was not the emphasis from Apple. The hardware emphasis product blitz suggests that Apple will keep the flywheel spinning even if it's not leaning heavily on AI. The consumer AI story is still unclear and it may well be that the path to that discovery goes through the Apple ecosystem but that will take time.

Whether the $350 target is in sight, that depends on many things outside Apple's control. I do note however that many of the AI early movers (MSFT, GOOG, META) are trading at lower P/E ratios than Apple while chalking up faster growth. It seems the market is pricing in a hangover.