Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may not be an AI stock as of yet, but it’s certainly working like it plans to become one eventually. Word from CEO Tim Cook is that Apple plans to ramp up its spending on AI, and do so by bringing in large numbers of employees on that front, particularly in the UK. Apple notched up fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading on this news.
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The news was received well by British functionaries, like UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Michelle Donelan. Donelan declared Apple’s move a “vote of confidence” in the UK’s technology sector, noting that “Apple’s ongoing investment in brilliant British talent highlights our global credentials as both an AI and technology superpower.”
Despite this planned onrush into AI development, Cook was recently spotted urging caution on AI development. Cook notes that such technology is “very interesting” but also insists that developers be “deliberate and thoughtful” in how such things are approached. Apple, meanwhile, has been working on AI developments for the last few years now, and it’s easy to wonder how many developments like Siri came out of that work. Meanwhile, Apple has also been revealed to be using Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and its Bing search engine as a negotiating tool against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and its search engine in who got to be the default engine.
Is Apple a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Even with all this, Apple is still drawing analyst support. Apple stock is currently rated a Moderate Buy, supported by 21 Buy ratings and eight Holds. Further, Apple stock offers investors 20.82% upside potential thanks to its $207.69 average price target.
