Apple’s (AAPL) stock closed 4% higher on Sept. 22, pushing the shares into positive territory for the year.
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The shares have rallied 8% since the newest iPhone 17 went on sale Sept. 19, and the stock has now erased its losses for 2025. With the latest 4% gain, AAPL stock is up a little over 2% for the year. Apple is the last of the mega-cap technology companies to turn positive in 2025.
The boost in its share price comes after Apple released the iPhone 17, along with a new Apple Watch and AirPods. The newest iPhone models, especially the $999 iPhone Air, mark the first significant redesign of the smartphone in years, and early data suggests sales are strong.
Analyst Upgrade
In a note to clients issued on Sept. 22, Bank of America (BAC) wrote: “Our tracking of iPhone ship dates on Apple’s own website, and various carrier websites, indicates that as of Sep 22nd, ship time (in days) for the iPhone 17 (18 days) are more extended vs last year’s iPhone 16 (10 days).”
At the same time, Dan Ives, a closely followed technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, raised his price target on AAPL stock to a street high $310, citing strong early demand for the iPhone 17. Ives, who rates AAPL stock a Buy, wrote on social media: “With iPhone 17 officially going on sale we are positively surprised on the demand trajectory… units appear to be tracking 10%-15% ahead of iPhone 16 thus far.”
Apple has lagged behind other mega-cap technology stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOGL) this year, partially because it’s spending less on artificial intelligence (AI) chips and data centers than its peers. The company has also delayed an AI upgrade to its Siri digital assistant until 2026.
Is AAPL Stock a Buy?
The stock of Apple has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 33 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 17 Buy, 14 Hold, and two Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average AAPL price target of $250.17 implies 2.31% upside from current levels.
