Brokers raise Apple stock targets; Jefferies says XR may be the new AI

Wall Street analysts are lifting price targets on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares as the AI-led frenzy continues to drive tech stocks higher.

Jefferies analysts highlighted that AI has been “the buzziest of buzzwords” in recent months. However, this may change as Apple prepares to unveil its highly-anticipated extended reality (XR) devices at the upcoming WWDC event.

“This will likely be remembered as one of the most important days in recent Apple history as the company takes on a once-promising technology. We expect the device will lean heavy into Apple’s propensity for owned chip and sensor design and be a technology marvel vs. competitor predecessors, which in our view, despite the early high price, gives XR a chance to break out of niche status that has come to be over the past decade,” they said in a client note.

Apple is widely expected to present AR/VR headset, which prompted Jefferies analysts to raise the price target by $15 to $210 per share.

Morgan Stanley analysts also hiked Apple stock numbers as they await AR/VR updates from the tech giant. Morgan Stanley’s new price target on Apple is $190 per share.

“We anticipate the combination of technological improvements, new use cases, and lower price points can drive the AR/VR headset TAM to $100B by2030, and over $500B by2037, implying AR/VR could become the next major ($20B+) standalone compute platform for Apple,” they wrote in a note.