Apple Set for 'Golden Era of Growth,' Analyst Says

19 minutes ago

Wedbush analysts led by Dan Ives, long an Apple (AAPL) bull, told clients in a note Thursday that the iPhone maker could be headed for a “golden era of growth” in 2025, driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI).

The analysts raised their price target for Apple's stock by $25 to $325 and maintained an "outperform" rating, anticipating a multi-year iPhone upgrade cycle driven by AI that “is still being underestimated by the Street."

That's a lot higher than the average analyst price target compiled by Visible Alpha at about $244. Just over half or nine of the 15 analysts polled hold "buy" or equivalent ratings for the stock, with four "hold" and two "sell" ratings.

Apple shares were up slightly in midday trading after hitting a fresh all-time high of just over $260.

Wedbush's target boost comes as the firm projects Apple could sell more than 240 million iPhones in fiscal year 2025, “as this AI-driven upgrade cycle takes hold and this will be the highest iPhone unit sales year in Apple's history.”

Apple shares have gained over one-third of their value since the start of the year, as the company’s market capitalization nears $4 trillion. The stock has outpaced the S&P 500 in 2024. (See chart above)

Wedbush expects Apple could soon reach that $4 trillion threshold, which would make it the first company in the world to do so. At present, there are only three companies with a market caps over $3 trillion, including Apple, Nvidia (NVDA), and Microsoft (MSFT). 

–Bill McColl

GameStop Rises After Roaring Kitty Christmas Post

1 hr 56 min ago

Did Roaring Kitty give meme-stock traders a Christmas present? While that isn’t presently clear, GameStop (GME) fans are doing a little shopping of their own this morning. 

Shares of the retailer associated with Keith “Roaring Kitty” Gill, who for many is the first person who comes to mind when the company comes up, were rising in early trading Thursday.

The gains, modest but noticeable at about 4%, follow a Wednesday tweet from his X account that was characteristically vague—he often tweets clips from movies and other media without explaining their meaning, leaving much to the beholder—though also seasonal: an image of a wrapped gift box.

Does that mean he got something nice? Has something to give? Likes nicely wrapped boxes? Predictably, people are wondering—and watching, with the message at recent count seen some 4 million times, according to X, with thousands of responses, retweets and likes. 

Shares of the company, meanwhile, are up nearly 80% in 2024, though below prices seen at the top of spikes largely inspired by Gill earlier this year. GameStop earlier this month reported its latest quarterly results, turning in a decline in sales and swinging to a net profit.

–David Marino-Nachison

Major Indexes Riding Multi-Day Win Streaks

3 hr 2 min ago

Heading into the start of Thursday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has finished higher in four straight sessions, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have gained for three consecutive days.

With its gains so far this week, the S&P 500 has moved into positive territory for the month. The Nasdaq is also higher for the month, while the Dow is on track to finish December with losses.

For the year, the Nasdaq is up 33.4%, while the S&P 500 and Dow have gained 26.6% and 14.9%, respectively.

Futures Point to Lower Open for Major Indexes

4 hr 16 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.

S&P 500 futures were also off 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.4%.

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