Apple’s Market Cap Tops $3T on Bullish Analyst Comments
Apple (AAPL:US) shares rose about 1% at the market open on Friday to push the company’s market capitalization above the $3 trillion threshold.
Apple shares are offered at above $191.5 apiece, giving the Cupertino-based giant a market cap of about $3.01 trillion. Should the stock close above this milestone, Apple will become the first ever business to have done so.
While Apple stock managed to briefly trade above the $3 trillion threshold in early 2022, it failed to close above the mark.
The pre-market gains in shares took place after Citigroup, one of Wall Street’s leading investment banks, said Apple stock could gain an additional 30% despite a robust year-to-date rally.
According to Bloomberg, more than 2/3 of research firms covering Apple recommend buying the stock, below 85%+ for Microsoft and Alphabet, and as much as 94% for Amazon.
Analysts at Citi started new research coverage on Apple stock with a Buy rating and a $240 per share price target – the highest among Wall Street analysts. Analyst Atif Malik said the company’s stock gained recently as Apple has managed to navigate “the macro slowdown and inflationary pressure on consumer spending by consistently gaining share from Android phones.”
Continued gross margin expansion, growing services sales mix, and strong balance sheet are some of the key reasons why Citi is recommending its clients to own Apple shares.
The new milestone comes just a week after Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul disclosed that they exercised call options to acquire 5,000 Apple shares at a strike price of $80. Elsewhere, Rep. Ro Khanna spend $50,001 - $100,000 to buy more Apple stock in late May.
