Apple Inc. shares traded at record intraday levels Monday but failed to close at an all-time high despite being on track to do so for much of the session.
Shares of Apple
AAPL,
closed Monday at $179.58, down 0.8% after the smartphone giant wrapped up its WWDC developer keynote. The stock needs to finish above the $182.01 closing level it achieved on Jan. 3, 2022, in order to record a new all-time closing high.
It traded as high as $184.95 Monday, surpassing the record intraday level of $182.94, which was set on Jan. 4, 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The smartphone giant has weathered a lot since it last posted a record close, enduring supply-related challenges related to the pandemic and spending pressures that are affecting its customer base. But Wall Street seems reasonably comfortable with Apple’s ability to thrive in an era of tightened consumer budgets, with one analyst musing after the company’s last earnings report that iPhones costing $1,000 or more have become a glorified essential purchase.
Then there’s the next chapter of Apple’s story. The company previewed a mixed-reality headset at its WWDC developer event Monday, though it seemed to surprise investors with the price tag and the timetable: The new Vision Pro will cost $3,499, above expectations for roughly $3,000, and come out in early 2024, not later this year.
See more: The $3,499 Vision Pro headset, iOS 17, and everything else Apple just announced at WWDC
With the Vision Pro announcement, Apple is taking a stab at a category that has thus far failed to catch on in any mainstream way.
It’s been a strong year for Big Tech names generally. Apple’s stock is up 38% so far in 2023, while shares of Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
have advanced 40%, shares of Alphabet Inc.
GOOG,
GOOGL,
have risen 43%, shares of Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
have gained 49% and shares of Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
have surged more than 125%. The S&P 500
SPX,
is up only 12% on the year.
Read: Why Meta’s stock is still ‘highly attractive’ after a 125% surge this year, according to one bull
Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a recent note to clients that Apple “is entering its seasonally strong trading time of the year.”
He continued: “While Apple’s valuation looks relatively fairly valued vs. both consumer and tech companies, we see a path/precedent for the stock to grind higher.” He noted that fiscal 2023 estimates look safe and that the company is gearing up for its headset debut. He rates the stock at market perform.
Evercore ISI analyst Amid Daryanani, meanwhile, boosted his price target on Apple’s stock to $210 from $190 over the weekend, cheering three emerging areas for the company that could evolve into $10 billion-plus revenue businesses over the next few years.
See more: Apple could be cooking up 3 more $10 billion-plus businesses, one analyst says
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