Apple shares fell after the presentation of new iPhones. What do analysts advise investors?

Investors did not pour into the new iPhones and other presented printed products of Apple - after the presentation quotes sagged by almost 2% and the next day the decline continues. Opinions of experts on Wall Street after the event were divided: some advised investors to buy shares and raise their target prices, while some criticized the company for barely supporting AI at presentations.

- Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng maintained a "buy" advice on Apple shares and a target price of $266 - that's 13.5% above the closing level, CNBC reported. Ng believes that Apple's surprise decision to completely remove the smartphone's 128GB storage panel should boost the iPhone's price. The drop in Apple's stock after the presentation could be due to disappointment with the slowdown due to the fact that the price of the most affordable iPhone 17 model still starts at $799, he believes.

- Bank of America reiterated a "Buy" rating and raised its target price by $10 to $270. Investment bank analyst Vassi Mohan called for "increased upside confidence" in the company's stock. He believes Apple's bet on its own processors, as well as new AI hardware capabilities, will strengthen the company's position in artificial intelligence.

- In turn, Gabelli Funds analyst Ryuta Makino said that the lack of talk about AI at Apple's event was expected, according to Business Insider. "Apple seems to avoid talking about artificial intelligence and Siri, which is expected but disappointing," Makino noted. - I believe Apple needs to make drastic changes to its AI strategy."

- Citi advises buying the company's stock, but its target of $245 a share is only 4.5% above the last closing price. Analyst Atif Malik said that the launch of the thin and light iPhone Air can be considered a preparation for the release of a foldable smartphone in 2026, which he expects will launch a more advanced replacement cycle for users' devices. He added that Apple shares on a price/earnings ratio (28) are now overvalued by about 8% of their historical performance, but it is justified: shows gross margin growth (excluding duties), is increasing the share of revenue from services, is gradually introducing Apple Intelligence and still maintains a strong balance sheet.

- Morgan Stanley analyst Eric Woodring rates Apple's stock as Overweight, equivalent to a "buy" advisory, with a $240 price target. Woodring suggests that while iPhone prices have gotten a bit higher - mainly due to the abandonment of models with less memory - favorable trade-in terms and stock operators are making the iPhone 17 lineup actually more affordable for buyers compared to years past. This could be a sales driver. The analyst described the presentation as a "moderately positive surprise" that, amid low expectations, creates a favorable backdrop for Apple for the rest of the year. "We recommend buying the stock on the drawdown [after the presentation]," the expert added.

- JPMorgan, too, maintains an Overweight rating and $255 target price. Analyst Samik Chatterjee noted that expectations are stopping at "the thinnest iPhone in history" as the driver of massive device upgrades is likely to be overvalued. However, among the positive factors, he singled out the growing interest in the Pro models, which have received more incremental upgrades and kept prices at last year's levels. According to him, the price retention of the iPhone 17 series relative to the iPhone 16 can be seen as a positive signal for the future.

- Evercore ISI also reiterated an Outperform rating and raised the target price from $250 to $260. "The long-awaited iPhone Air is a new design format that has taught new life into Apple's user base and is the beginning of a multi-year plan to evolve the iPhone lineup," Amit Daryani said in a note quoted by CNBC.

- Melius Research analyst Ben Ritzes maintains a "buy" rating and raises his target price on Apple shares from $260 to $290. The new target is nearly a quarter above the Sept. 9 close. The main reasons for his optimism are rising iPhone prices, continued payments from Google for default browser search and expectations of future AI improvements, Barron's listed. "The main thing is the $999 price, which will likely pull demand to cheaper models starting at $799, improving sales mix," Ritzes said in a note. - We also read that the smartphone's stylish new design could help Apple gain share in China and other regions - generating slightly more interest than in the skeptical U.S. market." The analyst is also confident that Apple will eventually realize the promised AI improvements to Siri voice assistant, despite the delay. "We understand that the Siri situation is annoying, but we don't think Apple is increasing market share. Patience is rewarded," Ritzes interrupted.

- UBS analyst David Vogt has taken a more cautious stance - he holds a Neutral rating on Apple shares (Hold), and his $220 target implies a 6.5% drop in the company's stock price by Tuesday's close. According to Vogt, Apple's new products were "exactly in the middle as expected, but officals have stopped wanting more." "Apple didn't announce an AI partnership with Google, which, from what we've heard, expected a small group to slow down. The company also didn't announce Apple Intelligence features for Siri, which we expect next year, likely in the spring. However, Apple did announce a Live Translation feature for the AirPods Pro 3 earbuds, powered by Apple Intelligence built in and allowing for simultaneous translation in the shortest amount of time possible. While this is an interesting application scenario, we don't expect AI application to be a meaningful driver for Apple's hardware products in Q3 or Q4."

- Needham analyst Laura Martin also maintains a neutral rating on Apple's stock, Business Insider reports. "We don't know anything that would cause us to raise our iPhone sales forecast," she noted. Apple is a single-product company, where the iPhone remains its anchor, she said. "Consequently, Apple stock will NOT perform until the iPhone replacement cycle begins," Martin stated.

In trading on September 10, Apple shares fell almost 3% to $227.5. Since the beginning of the year, the market value of the company in minus by almost 9%. For comparison: the index of the main U.S. stock market S & P 500 for the same period, on the contrary, added about 11%.

Wall Street's average target price of $241.2 suggests Apple's stock price will rise only 3% by the close on Sept. 9. However, the vast majority of analysts - 30 out of 48 - advise investors to buy the company's stock. Another 15 sentiment is neutral and only three recommend selling (underweight and sell).

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor