“Move over Nvidia,” Citi analyst Atif Malik said when crowning Apple as Citi’s top AI stock pick for 2025. The analyst says Apple is in the top spot, thanks to its upcoming Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence features coming to the iPhone later this year with the rollout of iOS 18. Apple beat out chip giant Nvidia.
Apple is holding its “Glowtime” iPhone media event on September 9, and Wall Street is anxiously waiting for the Cupertino firm to provide more information regarding its new AI-equipped iPhones.
As reported by Barrons, Malik rates Apple as a Buy with a $255 price target.
“We believe the company will put a lot of focus on how the hardware updates for the iPhone 16 family can better support its Apple Intelligence features that is expected to roll out officially later in the fall,” Malik wrote in a research note Thursday.
The Apple Intelligence features coming to the iPhone in iOS 18 require an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, meaning Apple should see a healthy upgrade cycle this upcoming model year. Many analysts that cover AAPL stock expect to see a “super upgrade cycle.”
“It will take time for consumers to test all these new capabilities and really see the impact of how it can improve daily life, before the adoption of AI phones go into the mass consumer market,” Malik wrote. “We view Apple as in the best position to make it possible given its leading position in the premium smartphone market and seamless integration of software and hardware.”
Wedbush’s Dan Ives rates Apple stock as Outperform with a $285 price target.
“AI technology being introduced into the Apple ecosystem will bring monetization opportunities on both the services as well as iPhone/hardware front,” Ives wrote earlier this week. He expects this will boost Apple stock by $30 to $40 per share, elevating Apple to a $4 trillion market value.
