Apple has become the most shorted stock in Jefferies’ “Sweet 16” group of leading tech firms, with traders betting against it by selling borrowed shares, hoping to repurchase them later at a reduced price.
Hedge funds that have soured on Apple stock may be overreacting, research from Goldman Sachs indicates.
The bank reiterated a Buy rating on the stock on Tuesday, lowering its price target from $259 to $256, a figure that suggests the shares could rally 25% in the next 12 months.
While Goldman acknowledged tariff risks and slowing gadget sales, it said investors are overlooking the potential benefits of Apple’s loyal customer base. That loyalty translates into predictable revenue and profits that investors should prize, and will help Apple build its services business, including products like Apple TV+, Apple Fitness, and Apple Watch, according to Goldman.
“Apple’s installed base growth, secular growth in services, and new product innovation should more than offset cyclical headwinds,” Goldman Sachs wrote.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple shares hit a low of $169.21 on April 8th, just twelve trading days ago. Did you stock up while the stocking was good?
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I don’t think investors are overreacting. It’s just a matter of there are so many other stocks that investors can choose from that are going to see better and faster gains than Apple. So many other companies are spending more on A.I., getting rid of excess employees, increasing their dividends significantly, and also doing large buybacks. I think investors like it when company CEOs start boasting about how great their companies are and all the things they’re going to do in the future. That excites investors. Apple is rather quiet about its future direction, and that makes investors yawn.
I don’t pay much attention to what other companies do, and I let the future take care of itself. Apple makes plenty of money and sells terrific products. That’s enough for me. I’ve owned Apple for over 20 years and I have no regrets. No company is perfect, and no company can stay on top forever. If Apple stumbles, that’s life. Let investors short-sell Apple at their own risk.
John Giannandrea has been a cash-sucking lump on a log and tech under his watch has gone backwards. It’s about as bold as milk-toast…but finally Tim has the balz.
AAPL needs some chaos. Sleeping at the wheel with China, inflating AI progress and letting the idiot Siri act like a dumb sorority girl for a decade plus, some creative–with a little desperation– here’s for hoping for constructive chaos to materialize. Jobs led AAPL with a little chaos…and in his pattern, this chaos could lead to beauty.
Shorting Apple overlooks its loyal customers and booming services revenue potential.