Apple Stock Climbs as Analyst Predicts Strong Holiday Sales for iPhone 16: Retail Mood Buoyant Amid Santa Claus Rally Optimism
Ives predicted that Apple would hit the $4 trillion market-cap threshold by early 2025, potentially becoming the first member of this exclusive club.
FollowApple, Inc. ($AAPL) stock edged up in Monday’s premarket trading after a bullish analyst flagged a strong holiday season for the tech giant.
In a note released late Sunday, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said demand for iPhone 16 since its September launch is slightly ahead to generally in line with expectations globally. The analyst expects a strong holiday season ahead as the iPhone 16 upgrades across its installed base are trending well into Christmas, citing Wedbush’s recent Asia supply chain checks.
Ives said the positive trend is despite Apple Intelligence features yet to make their way to many countries, including China, with April the likely timetable for these artificial intelligence (AI) features launch.
The analyst expects Apple to name a Chinese tech partner very soon to kickstart the rollout of AI features in the country.
A Reuters report said last week that Apple was in talks with Tencent Holdings Limited ($TCEHY) and TikTok parent ByteDance to integrate Apple Intelligence into the iPhones sold in China.
Ives predicted that Apple would hit the $4 trillion market-cap threshold by early 2025, potentially becoming the first member of this exclusive club.
The analyst reiterated his view that Apple is well-positioned to sell more than 240 million iPhone units in 2025, marking a record, as the AI-driven upgrade cycle takes hold.
Ives maintained an ‘Outperform” rating and a $300 price target for Apple shares.
AAPL sentiment and message volume December 23, 2024, premarket as of 4:53 am ET | Source: Stocktwits
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Apple stock remains ‘’bullish’ (55/100), but retail chatter remains anemic.
An Apple watcher on Stocktwits expects Apple to benefit from the Santa Claus rally kicking in this week.
Another mentioned the possibility of a stock split after the epic run.
In premarket trading, Apple stock was up 0.49% at $255.73, as of 4:53 a.m. ET. The stock has gained about 33% this year, outperforming S&P 500’s 24% advance and Nasdaq Composite’s 30% gain.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<
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