'They're bound to show something': Bernstein upgrades outlook on Apple stock because of AI

Bernstein Research, one of the world's leading analyst firms, has raised its forecast for Apple's stock price, despite the growing shortage of memory chips affecting iPhone production. Bernstein believes Apple will be able to pass on the rising cost of smartphones to customers. Analysts cite the upcoming release of long-awaited AI features that will accelerate sales as a key driver of the revaluation.

Analysts of Bernstein SocGen Group raised the target price of Apple shares from $325 to $340, keeping the recommendation to buy securities of the iPhone manufacturer (Outperform, "above the market"), writes MarketWatch. The updated target implies a 24% increase in Apple's securities from the closing level on February 10. Sales of iPhone 17 remain strong, and a 15% increase in the cost of smartphones can be offset by higher prices for iPhone 18, according to Bernstein.

Despite memory price pressures that have caused the next smartphone lineup's sales growth forecast to be adjusted to zero (Flat), Apple's "much more important stock price driver" in 2026 will be the debut of its Siri 2.0 voice assistant, analyst Mark Newman said on CNBC.

"They're two years late. This year they are bound to show something. They announced a partnership with Google Gemini. And I'm pretty optimistic: I think we're going to see something interesting, a significant step forward. I'm not saying it's going to solve all the problems instantly, but I believe there will be significant progress this year, and that will help," Newman said. He added that he expects Apple's AI innovations to have a positive effect on both iPhone sales and service revenue.

According to Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman, the Siri 2.0 voice assistant will debut as early as the end of February in the iOS 26.4 developer beta. At that point, the new version of Siri is expected to get the long-promised features for managing key apps, including messages, calendar and photos, as well as learning to respond to contextual queries. At the same time, according to Bloomberg's sources, the full chatbot functionality will become available to users only with the release of a major iOS 27 update.

Apple has been talking for more than a year and a half about how "smart" Siri will become through integration with Apple Intelligence services. However, despite active marketing, including an advertising campaign with The Last of Us star Bella Ramsay, these AI functions have not yet appeared on iPhones for real users, Tom's Guide notes.

Bernstein is not the only major Wall Street player that has recently raised its target on Apple shares. Since Apple announced "overwhelming" demand for the iPhone on Jan. 30, target prices for the company's stock have been raised by Goldman Sachs (from $320 to $330), JPMorgan Chase (from $315 to $325), Daiwa Securities (from $300 to $310), Jefferies (from $276.5 to $286.5) and Rosenblatt Securities (from $250 to $267). According to MarketScreener, even the skeptics at Barclays supported the trend: maintaining its "below market" rating (Underweight, consistent with a sell recommendation), the bank raised its benchmark for Apple shares from $230 to $239.

Apple's securities are down slightly at the premarket on Feb. 11, down 0.34% to $273.68 apiece at the last close on Feb. 10.

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