Apple shares just had their best day since last May

Apple
shares
climbed
4.3%
on
Thursday
to
a
share
price
of
$175.04.
It
is
Apple’s
best
day
since
May
5,
2023.

Apple’s
rise
came
during
a
strong
day
for
technology
stocks,
especially
those
in
artificial
intelligence,
as
the
Nasdaq
Composite
rose
1.77%.

Apple
shares
are
down
more
than
5%
so
far
this
year.
On
Thursday,
JPMorgan
analysts
wrote
that
sentiment
over
Apple
shares
is
improving
with
hedge
fund
investors,
partially
due
to
its
recent
stock
slide.

Despite
some
negative
trends
around
iPhone
sales
in
China,
and
recent
reports
of
canceled
projects
such

as
its
effort
to
build
a
car,
JPMorgan
analyst
Samik
Chatterjee
said
investors
may
be
more
comfortable
with
its
current
valuation
after
recent
losses
and
the
potential
to
benefit
from
AI.

The
JPMorgan
analysts
predicted
a
strong
iPhone
sales
cycle
in
2026
due
to
forthcoming
AI
features.
Apple
CEO
Tim
Cook
recently
told
investors
to
expect
an

AI
announcement
later
this
year.
That
is
expected
to
occur
during

Apple’s
Worldwide
Developers
Conference
event
in
June.

“Hedge
fund
investors
are
increasingly
warming
up
to
the
opportunity
of
the
AI
upgrade
cycle,
but
the
uncertainty
still
pertains
to
whether
the
upgrade
cycle
starts
with
iPhone
16
in
September
2024
or
iPhone
17
in
September
2025,”
Chatterjee
wrote.

Separately,
Apple
is
also
preparing
new
Mac
laptops
and
desktops
with
next-generation “M4
chips”
that
emphasize
AI,

according
to
a
report
Thursday
from
Bloomberg.
Apple
declined
to
comment
on
the
report.
The
current
generation
of
Apple’s
chips
is
called
M3.